Family Sacrifices (Gamer Itachi)
by Pixel.the.Square
Summary: Itachi Uchiha didn't know what to make of a mysterious power that manifested in the form of text boxes and something called "experience," but that didn't stop him. Now he's become an ANBU operative, and even with more bullshit added to his repertoire, Itachi still has issues, a lot of issues.
1. Graduation Day

Itachi collapsed into his bed, dropping all pretense of the Uchiha formality. His day hadn't been stressful per se, but there had still been his clan to deal with. Today had been an important day after all. Itachi had been inducted into ANBU. Fugaku's position in Konoha meant that he had learned that Itachi had passed before the results had been officially released.

The graduation itself had been a formal affair, as expected. There weren't many people in attendance, just some of the more important people of the village. The real draining experience had been after the ceremony. Itachi had shaken hands with what seemed like an endless stream of Uchiha that had all offered their congratulations.

Then came the celebration, if it could be called that. The Uchiha's stiff formal method of going through life carried into joyous occasions. Everyone had been eager to talk to him about his accomplishment, and no one did anything crazy. "It is not befitting of an Uchiha," Fugaku had told Itachi many years ago. But none of it really mattered, as Itachi was now safe within his own room.

But more than just the people, there'd been something Itachi had been waiting to check ever since he'd gone through the official ceremony. There'd been a happy ding, informing him of something, as it always had. It was part of a strange power that he'd awakened one day from doing nothing in particular. He'd just woken up one day to see " **The Gamer** " floating above his head with the line " **Lv 8 Itachi Uchiha** " underneath it.

It had taken Itachi not very long at all to figure out this new power, and an even shorter amount of time after that to see that it had very real limits. When he'd started out, his basic stats had been fairly easy to raise through repeated use. If he were to try and raise them now, it'd takes about a week maybe of continuous dedicated training to gain one point, and with Itachi's new position, his time would be very precious.

But for now, he was content with seeing what he'd been awarded. He brought up the text box, which showed that he'd been awarded some XP for officially graduating, and that he'd been awarded a new trait. A few moments later Itachi had his trait menu pulled up before him:

Sure enough, there was a perfect recreation of his ANBU mask now among the rest of his traits, which included the **Gamer's Mind, Gamer's Body, Uchiha Heritage, Small Chakra Pool, Shinobi, Sharingan User, Prodigy,** and **Citizen of Konoha**. He was about to take a closer look at the perks of being an ANBU member when a voice called out to him.

"Nii-san!" It was Sasuke. Itachi closed the window with a thought and got up with a smile to greet his little brother. He was level three, which was respectable for someone his age.

"Sasuke, what's taken you so long?" Itachi asked. It was a question he was genuinely curious about. Given his younger brother's admiration of him, he was surprised he hadn't seen him earlier.

"Otou-san shooed me off while the adults were all talking to you." Sasuke pouted. "It's not fair!"

"That does sound like him. After all, a young child such as yourself running about is not befitting of the Uchiha clan." Itachi had tried his best to do an impression of Fugaku. Sasuke tried to hold back his laughter.

"So, can you help me train so I can be in ANBU like you Nii-san?" Sasuke was looking up at him, his eyes all but sparkling with admiration. Before Itachi could respond, another voice came into the conversation.

"Itachi, Sasuke, dinner!" Their mom called out to them.

"Coming Oka-san!" They said back. Sasuke gave another look at Itachi, who looked towards the dining room. Sasuke took the hint and walked out with Itachi following behind.

They took their places at the table. Fugaku was already seated, back straight, eyes straight ahead, and knees folded perfectly beneath him. To Itachi, his level was 3 question marks. It was the image of perfection that had come to be expected from the Uchiha. Itachi copied his father's posture as he sat down. Sasuke had to adjust himself after sitting to get that image of perfection.

"Itachi, today is a great day for the Uchiha." Fugaku stated. "With any luck you will prove to the rest of the village that we are better than the rest, and should do more than police work for Konoha."

"Yes, Otou-san. I understand." Any other conversation was cut short by Mikoto, who also had 3 question marks for a level, bringing out the food. They had a quick thanks and ate in silence. Talking while eating was just another of the formalities of the Uchiha clan. Soon their plates were clean, and the table was cleared away.

"Come on, Nii-san, help me with my kunai training." Despite the lengthy interruption of dinner, Sasuke was not going to be distracted easily.

"I will help you, Itachi." Fugaku said. But all Sasuke gave him was a pout and some whining.

"But Nii-san is better than you. And he still owes me from yesterday." Fugaku recoiled ever so slightly before smoothly recovering.

"That is true, but your brother must be very tired from today. Let him be for today. I'm sure he can go with you tomorrow."

"It's okay, I can take him for a little bit." Itachi cut in. Fugaku looked at him, but Itachi left with Sasuke in tow before anything more could be said.

Truth be told, Itachi wanted to get away from it all, even if it was only for an hour or two. Sasuke walked beside him happily. Itachi let his eyes wander, looking at all the people and their levels. Even if the shinobi and civilians didn't dress differently, the gaps in their levels were a dead give away. The highest level he'd ever seen among them was a 4, whereas most adults had their level in the twenties at least. Soon the pair reached the training ground.

"Have you been training often, Sasuke?" Itachi asked.

"Of course, Nii-san! I come out here every day, even when you don't come with me." Even though Sasuke was just a kid, Itachi still found that the comment stung more than he wanted to admit.

"All right then, show me what you've got." Itachi needed to see where he was at. It'd been too long since he'd last seen Sasuke throw shuriken and kunai. Becoming an ANBU took up a lot of time. Sasuke took up a position and began flinging kunai with pinpoint accuracy, except when it came to the last one. It was the one in the blind spot behind the boulder in the middle of the field.

Sasuke leapt up, throwing the first kunai, but he was still too young and couldn't get the height to throw the second one out yet. Itachi caught him before he hit the ground.

"Not bad, Sasuke, but it looks like you'll have to wait a bit longer to get all of them." Itachi gave him a smile, just to let him know he was proud of him.

"It's not fair! You're older than me!" Sasuke shot back. Itachi had no rebuttal for that. Of course he knew that even if Sasuke was old enough, he wouldn't be able to pull it off quite yet. Itachi's Observe skill from his Gamer power had told him that Sasuke still had a number of levels before he'd be able to pull off that particular trick.

"Don't worry, you'll be older like me one day, and you'll be able to do it. You might even be able to do it better than me, even." Itachi was being sincere. He hoped that Sasuke would surpass him one day.

"You really think so? I'd better keep training then!" And with that, Sasuke redoubled his efforts. Itachi watched, making sure to point out his rare mistake while throwing. A few hours later, the sun began setting, and it was time for them to go home.

"I think that's enough for today, Sasuke." Itachi told him.

"All right. Thanks, Nii-san." he replied. But even at that, Itachi could tell something was up. So he just looked at him until he brought it up. "Can you show me your trick, before we go?"

"Of course, all you had to do was ask." Itachi picked up a handful of kunai. He took a deep breath, throwing himself into the air. He twisted around, flinging kunai after kunai. One, two, three, four, five, six hit successfully. He threw his penultimate one with his left hand, followed quickly by one from his right. The two collided in the air, and one was sent downward into the target in the blindspot. Itachi landed right where he had started.

"That was amazing, Nii-san!" It was always amazing. But Itachi couldn't help but feel a bit sad. He'd been able to do that trick since before he'd gotten his Gamer powers. Back then, each attempt was a success or failure, and he took a chance with every attempt. Now, his skills were dictated by levels. Once he reached a certain level for something, there was no more success or failure, only success.

"All right, let's go home now." Itachi said, bringing himself out of thought. Sasuke nodded, and the two of them began walking.

 **A/N: A different type of gamer story. This won't be quite as numbers oriented as others. Also gave the Gamer to Itachi, because the SI and Naruto usage of it tends to end in horrible things.**


	2. First Impressions

Itachi's eyes snapped open as the light from the rising sun infiltrated his room. It was yet another side effect of his odd power. He slept a set number of hours, and was greeted with a floating message box that informed him that, " **You have slept in a bed. HP and MP fully restored; all status effects removed**." With practiced motions, he left his bed. He'd lost track of how long he'd had his power, but it still surprised him to feel so… normal in the mornings.

He called up his inventory, pulling out his new ANBU uniform from its slot, and placing his neatly folded pajamas within their respective slot. It wasn't necessary to fold them, as his inventory handled that for him, but he found some pleasure from it.

"Folding's level goes up by one." proclaimed a text box that appeared with a happy ding. Itachi gave a bemused smirk. Right as he'd predicted. He found it much more comforting to keep most of his belongings in his inventory, with the exception of the things that'd be easy to notice if they weren't there. He doubted that his family would be so brash as to search his room, but still.

After putting on his uniform and eating a light breakfast, Itachi headed out, pausing only to check up on Sasuke, who was tangled up in his bedding. He couldn't afford to be late though, and he slipped out the front door. A cheery voice called out to him.

"Hey, Itachi, I've been waiting!" There was only one person who'd be so remarkably Un-Uchiha-like. Shisui Uchiha, level 17. While the level difference was great, their stats were remarkably similar. Itachi had known the reason for a while, but kept it to himself. Shisui had confided in him, and it would be dishonorable to share that information so freely.

"Shisui, loud as ever." Itachi remarked. He just laughed.

"And you're still as proper as ever. Anyway, what's this about becoming an ANBU member?" Itachi could do very little to deny it. Even if Shisui had somehow missed the celebration of yesterday, Itachi was in full ANBU attire, with the mask clutched at his side.

"It was my father's wish. He'd said he'd hate to see such talent doing police work." It was best to appease Shisui when one was in a rush.

"Couldn't settle for just fieldwork, eh? So you go for ANBU and here you are." Shisui tussled Itachi's hair. "You've grown up so fast." It was no secret that Itachi was less than fond of that particular brand of affection showing. He removed Shisui's hand from his hair.

"Yes, now if you'll excuse me I need to be on my way." There was only so much Shisui you could handle while still maintaining the Uchiha facade.

"Well then, I'd hate to keep you from your work." Shisui said. "Remember to tell me all of the village's secrets when you come back." And with that, Shisui was off, presumably to go train. Itachi took a deep breath, and began walking towards the Hokage tower.

There was nothing particularly of note on his journey, although he did use Observe on a few things. He wasn't sure of what else he could learn with higher levels of it, but it didn't hurt to get some experience in whenever he could.

 **Failed Test: A test from the academy marked with an "F," presumably discarded by a child who didn't want their parents to see it.**

 **Candy Wrapper: A wrapper from a popular candy. Appears to have come from the shop down the street. Why does it interest you?**

It was about what Itachi had expected. Whatever had given him his power delighted in inserting its own commentary into the text boxes. He got no happy ding, as expected. It'd take about another week before he got another level for Observe.

And as with most things done while Itachi's mind was elsewhere, he found himself at his destination in much less time than he'd expected. He placed his mask onto his face, and headed to the Hokage's office.

"Lord Hokage, I come to you for my assignment." Itachi took to one knee, putting forth every effort into addressing the hokage in the proper manner. He had seen him enough times to know that his level was also three question marks. He'd yet to figure out what it meant though.

"Itachi Uchiha," Hiruzen responded, "I've been waiting for you to end up in my office." He was staring out the window, pipe in his mouth. It was hard for Itachi to peg what his tone was. He was speaking the truth, but Itachi couldn't help but notice there was something else in his voice.

"Lord Hokage?" he asked.

"Don't mind me," he said, turning his full attention to Itachi. "I've thought about it, and I've decided to assign you to work with Kakashi." Itachi's mask kept his slight shock from being revealed. He'd heard stories about Kakashi, particularly ones about the Third Shinobi War. "The team you'll be a part of reports directly to me. It is all I can do to extend my goodwill towards the Uchiha clan."

"I thank you on behalf of the Uchiha clan for your thoughtfulness." Itachi wasn't going to drop the formalities. This is how he addressed the Hokage now. "I hope that they see this as a step forward for both of us."

"Lord Hokage, I am ready for my new team member." A new voice joined the conversation. Itachi spared a glance over towards the owner of the voice. It was a member of ANBU wearing a distinctly dog-like mask; Hatake Kakashi, level 30. No doubt it was the result of his past.

"Right on time," Hiruzen smiled. "Itachi, Kakashi will be teaching you the basics today." If Kakashi had anything to say about the usage of his real name, he didn't bring it up. Itachi stood up and bowed towards him.

"I look forward to working with you, Kakashi." His posture and mannerisms came easily, mostly from the amount of time he'd used them within the Uchiha Clan.

"And I, too, Itachi." Kakashi returned the gesture. "Now let us depart, Lord Hokage is busy." Itachi nodded and the two left after addressing Hiruzen one last time.

* * *

"Today will be a basic patrol of the village. I have no doubt of your capabilities, but things are done by the book for a reason." Kakashi said once they were outside. "The main purpose is to evaluate your stealth performance. We are not to be seen. Are you ready?" Before Itachi responded, a text box appeared before him.

 **Quest Alert**  
 **ANBU Evaluation: First Impressions**

 **Complete a basic patrol of Konoha, staying completely out of sight.**

 **Completion Award: 3000 XP**  
 **More Quests as ANBU**

 **Completion Failure: Increased doubt from ANBU members**  
 **Assigned to more training**

Itachi was familiar with quests, and pushed the Yes button that had accompanied it. 3000 XP was decent enough, and Itachi guessed it had to do with the importance of the quest that it was worth so much.

"All right then, let's get going." Kakashi replied before heading up to a vantage point. Itachi followed. He was not worried in the slightest. When he had first acquired his power, he'd spent a great deal of his spare time comparing himself to others statwise.

He'd started off with a decent Stealth level thanks to his background, and it'd only grown since then. He'd figured out that someone would need a detection mastery level of at least 40 to discover him, which was far beyond the average shinobi.

Kakashi lead and Itachi followed. He had been truthful in how basic it was. In the now very much alive marketplace of Konoha, they could've blended in with minimal effort among the crowd. Itachi couldn't help but feel the irony of the mission though. A patrol like this was exactly the type of work the police force did. He became an ANBU to escape that life, and yet it still insisted on being in his life anyways.

Itachi's thoughts were interrupted by Kakashi stopping and motioning to him. He caught up and was about to ask what the issue was when some yelling down below answered the question for him.

"I wouldn't call on the Uchiha if my life depended on it! I don't need them!" A man red in the face was yelling at someone, who looked only mildly more restrained. Another text box popped up.

 **Quest Alert**  
 **Peace Keeper**

 **Intervene and resolve the conflict in the marketplace.**

 **Completion Award: 200 XP**  
 **Increased trust among civilians**

 **Completion Failure: Increased distrust among civilians**  
 **Decreased reputation within ANBU.**

Itachi poked the Yes button as before and headed towards the dispute. He knew that the XP was a general indicator of the difficulty, so this couldn't be anything more than a triviality. Kakashi sort of hung back, and Itachi guessed he was going to evaluate his performance in resolving the dispute.

"Greetings, sir, what is the problem you are experiencing with this man?" Itachi decided it was best to start with the man who had a tomato coloured face, but he only got more aggravated with the sudden interruption.

"I thought I said I didn't need the Uchiha to solve my problems!" He yelled.

"I am an ANBU operative, not a part of the police force." Itachi calmly replied. The man's face dropped a few shades of red at these words.

"Well if that's the case, could you inform that man that he needs to pay his bill for the food." It was a request, not a question.

"Hey, I've just forgotten my wallet at my house!" The other man interjected.

"I've heard that story too many times. How naive do you think I am?" The tomato-faced man snapped back. Itachi remained silent for several moments before responding.

"If that's the case, then my partner can watch him as he returns to his home. Don't worry, he wouldn't be able to run even if he wanted to." The man went into deep thought, trying to find some problem with the solution presented. He eventually conceded.

"Alright, I guess as long as I get my money, I'll be satisfied." And so it was. Itachi watched as Kakashi escorted the other man out of sight. About ten minutes later, they returned, and the shop owner was paid. The crowd that had gathered dispersed as Itachi and Kakashi left. Itachi got another ding and box telling him the quest had been completed, but dismissed it for now.

"It gets worse every day with people and the Uchiha." Kakashi said after they'd resumed their patrol. "I'm sorry about that." Itachi wasn't at all surprised by the turn of events. He'd heard a lot about it from his father.

"Not to worry. That was not going to get solved with the man's refusal to accept help from the Uchiha." Itachi replied. Kakashi looked at him for a moment, his face unreadable on account of the mask. Without another word, they resumed the patrol.

Nothing else of note occurred as they made their way around the village, and they were soon back in front of the Hokage tower. Kakashi gave Itachi a few remarks before dismissing him and leaving to go complete another mission. Itachi ignored the happy ding and text box from completing the quest.

Even though he knew he shouldn't be able to feel fatigue anymore, the day had still felt draining to him. It'd been a simple mission, and nothing new about Konoha had been presented to him. It was simple, he was just imagining things. And with that, Itachi headed towards the training grounds. He had no desire to talk to Fugaku just yet.

 **A/N: So I pushed this up a bit to talk about stuff in this story. This is probably going to be the longest A/N I write in this story, so just bear with me for a bit. If you're looking for a gamer fic with lots of numbers and stats and details about skills, this isn't for you. The goal here is to write a gamer type story close to the original, wherein the gamer power almost takes a backseat to the narrative. And I don't really consider this a true Gamer crossover since there's a lack of anything else from the gamer (hence the gamer!Itachi tag and not a crossover tag)**

 **This is not to say that there won't be any at all, it's just that they'll be fairly light throughout. Like this chapter here, this chapter is representative of about as much of the gamer power will be present in any given chapter. Of course there'll be ones with more, and ones with less, but this is the general amount. I am doing this because I find it a bit irritating to just see the general plot of 'person gets powersperson learns about powerinitiate grindingwin' Not to mention the parade of numbers for everything.**

 **Now Itachi will get new skills, and for the most part I'll be doing the general rundown of said skills as is the norm. And there will be general stat sheets for Itachi, most likely towards the end of part one, and the beginning of part two, to show his growth during this time. But other than that, there's not really going to be many numeric values assigned definitively to characters, stats, skills, etc. if that makes sense.**

 **Lastly is some stuff for the story itself. Itachi is basically Sun-il at this point in time. His level is low due to, well, him not going out and killing people and doing tons of missions compared to others (which is going to change soon). However, he's been spending a lot of time training, which makes his stats higher than what they should be at his level. Most of the older shinobi of Konoha however, are war veterans, and most of them have racked up lots of xp from the Third War, hence why most of them are going to be much higher levels than Itachi.**

 **I think that's everything I wanted to address for now, and so, thanks for reading this little explanation of stuff.**


	3. Izumi Uchiha

The mission had not taken that long, and there was plenty of time left in the day for Itachi. However, as he approached the Uchiha compound, a voice yelled at him.

"Itachi! Where have you been?" It was Izumi. Itachi knew he'd been forgetting something these past few weeks. His mind had been focused on the ANBU exams. Time began to slow down as a rather large text box appeared in front of Itachi. He braced himself mentally for what was to come.

 **"Itachi Uchiha… a man so focused on his goals that he's left his beloved to waste away without his love. His heart, now heavy with regret as he's realized the folly of his actions. Itachi just stands motionless, unsure of what he can say in his defense."** It only took up a small part of the box.

"I'm sorry." Itachi said. Another paragraph slowly faded in beneath the first one.

 **"Izumi Uchiha, the girl who feels as if she has been forgotten by her beloved. She hears his apology and gives pause. He's been a selfish fool these past few weeks, but… but! She thinks back upon all the time she's spent with him. After a long moment, she responds."**

"I'll accept your apology." Izumi said.

 **"Itachi let out an inaudible sigh of relief. His beloved was not going to leave him alone out in the street. A faint smile began to form upon his lips when his love said something that shook him to his core."**

"But…" She continued.

 **"No.. not that dreaded word. There could be any number of things attached to this acceptance. But Itachi would not falter, for he couldn't let leave his life. He took a deep breath, and braced himself for what was to come."** The text box that took up a good portion of Itachi's vision was about half full now.

"We have to go on a date," she finished

 **"Itachi blushed furiously. There'd never been a doubt in his mind about Izumi. She'd been infatuated with him ever since the academy. But this, this was different for him. She'd never openly called their little visits to shops 'dates.' He had to accept, he had to rectify his mistake."**

"Where shall we go?" Itachi asked of her.

"Tea and dango, at our favorite shop." She replied.

"And so it was the two began walking. Izumi reached out for Itachi's hand. He recoiled, unsure of what to do. She responded by snatching his hand using an inhuman speed. Itachi resigned himself to this, and relaxed. He looked at her.

He found it comforting that the two most important people in his life, Izumi and Sasuke, both had onyx eyes. But unlike Sasuke, Izumi was pretty. The way her mocha hair rested on her shoulders, the smile that was always on her face. Itachi was soothed by her very presence.

They wandered. And wandered. And wandered. Eventually they came upon the shop that was the desire of Itachi's beloved. He pulled out the seat for her, letting her sit. He pushed her in before taking his place across from her…" Itachi dismissed the text box as soon as he could after the last paragraph faded in.

It was an oddity of Itachi's power. Whenever he interacted with Izumi, it abandoned its usual demeanor for… whatever this was. The series of text boxes that plagued his life seemed to have their own personality. At least, for anything that wasn't this. Itachi was vaguely reminded of a romance novel he'd once read whenever he had to put up with this.

 **DATE START!**

Oh yeah, there was also this. Izumi and Itachi may not of called their little excursions dates, but apparently his power thought otherwise. Itachi didn't mind the numerous bars and such that appeared though, because at least now he didn't have to put up with the giant text box.

"Izumi, my absence warrants that I do something special." He told her.

"Oh?" she asked. A bar labeled **Intrigue** filled up a bit..

"I shall have a word with the chef. Today, you shall eat dango that I have made myself!" Itachi just barely stopped himself from covering his mouth. The earlier text had apparently gotten to him. He noted the **Attraction** bar had filled to nearly half, so it wasn't all bad.

"Itachi…" Izumi blushed harder than Itachi had earlier, but, Itachi was already halfway to the actual shop.

* * *

The shop owner had been quite understanding, and allowed him into the kitchen. Itachi took a deep breath and his eyes swirled into crimson. He'd need the Sharingan for what was to come. The dating display had changed into a display that consisted only of circles.

 **ROUND 1!  
** **MIX!**

And so it began. Music from an unknown source drifted into Itachi's ear. The song started off slow, with some gentle string sounds. Itachi gently poked at the circles as they lit up. At the very least, with this method of cooking didn't require that Itachi actually measure out ingredients or even know what they were off the top of his head.

Then the percussion came in. The circles began to light up faster. A blue circle caught his eye, and snapped to it and he held it down. There were 10 circles before Itachi, one for each of his fingers. To anyone looking at him, it'd appear as if he were just mixing, thanks to his power. A large **50 COMBO!** rolled through Itachi's vision. He ignored it.

The tempo increased. If anyone else was attempting this, they'd swiftly lose. It took a sharingan to match the speed of the game. Or maybe it was customized to every user? Itachi hadn't actually thought about that. The owner came in to investigate the noise, only to quietly back out when he saw the ferocity of Itachi's stirring. With one last punch from the instruments, the song was over. Itachi let out the breath he'd been holding.

 **174 COMBO!  
** **PERFECT!**

Exactly as Itachi had hoped. This was a special occasion. What point was there to going through all this effort if he didn't make it perfect? He loosened up his fingers in preparation for the next round.

 **ROUND 2!  
** **SHAPE!**

Before Itachi were a number of lumps of dough he knew to be perfectly portioned. A plucked instrument was the lead for this song. Within the first 30 seconds, he'd achieved a 50 combo. Itachi knew there were far more things within his vision that reacted to his performance, but he couldn't be distracted by them, or anything for that matter.

Left pinky, right index, left ring, right thumb, right middle… the game just continued. He was doing good by his definition of it. However, this was the easy part. He only had to worry about single circles at a time. The third and final round is what would really get to him.

Itachi monitored his breathing, ensuring even it kept pace with the rhythm. He enjoyed the music, wishing he didn't have to concentrate so much on the circles before him. Left pinky, right pinky, right middle, left middle, right thumb, left thumb, and done.

 **366 COMBO!  
** **PERFECT!**

He willed the game to pause. This was it. Three minutes of hellishly difficult circle pressing. He took a moment to be thankful for his high **DEX** from all his training before unpausing the game.

 **FINAL ROUND!  
** **BAKE!**

Itachi didn't even know what the last song sounded like. He had kicked up the power of his sharingan to slow the passage of time. The sound was too distorted to make any sense of it. But it didn't matter, for all of Itachi's focus was on the ten circles before him.

It had started off simple. Only one circle to press at a time. Then after about a minute, two circles to press at a time. This he could handle. His eyes were directed at the space between his hands. He both saw nothing beyond that space and everything within his field of vision.

This was what he lived for. But then the last part of the song kicked in. Now it was three circles. He'd been wrong, _this_ is what he lived for. It was a true challenge. It wasn't succeed or fail like the rest of his life. This rode solely on the him that was in this moment. If they could, Itachi was sure his fingers would've cramped up by now.

Time resumed its normal flow. He'd done it. His hands fell from the interface. Yet it didn't disappear. Itachi looked at it with confusion, until he heard a single note play, the last note of the song. Despite his speed, there was nothing he could do to reach the circle as it lit and unlit in a fraction of a second. He was confronted by a message, as if the game was taunting him.

 **COMBO LOST!**

Followed shortly by the usual ending text.

 **628 COMBO!  
** **ALMOST PERFECT!**

A whirl of crimson, and his eyes had returned to normal. Before him were two plates of dango. He knew that they were near perfection. But they were only near. Itachi took a deep breath, and headed out the door. He ignored the odd looks from the staff as he left to rejoin with Izumi.

"Here is your dango." Itachi said flatly. He sat down in his chair, lamenting his one error. Perfection would allude him… for now. Izumi looked at him. "What?" he asked.

"Itachi, where's the tea?"

 **A/N: When I decide to be different, I go to the extremes, and this time, I think it paid off.**


	4. Fallout

After all was said and done with Itachi's date, it was later than he had expected it to be. He had already dropped off Izumi at her house and was heading back towards his home. A long discussion was expected with Fugaku upon his arrival, something Itachi was still not looking forward to. Maybe if he was lucky, Shisui would stop him for another talk.

"There's the adorable lovebird!" Itachi sometimes wondered about Shisui. He always pulled stunts like this.. "Why wasn't I invited on your little excursion? You know how much I love dango." Maybe talking to Fugaku wouldn't be so bad.

"I apologize, Shisui. Izumi asked me out on a date, and it is considered poor form to invite other people." Itachi told him.

"So it was a date?" Shisui asked. "But aren't those 'not for someone of your age,' Itachi?" Shisui had an extraordinary memory, and yet he insisted on wasting it on information to use against Itachi..

"Shisui, that was a year ago when you asked me about it. Besides, it was Izumi who called it a date." Itachi explained. "There's a lot that can change in such a span of time." He resumed his walk back towards his house.

"Come on Itachi, why so serious?" Shisui whined, running to catch up to him. "You know I wouldn't ever want to get between you and Izumi. I mean, have you seen how cute you two are together?" Itachi did his best to avoid blushing, but he might as well have tried to hide the fact he was an Uchiha.

"You leave us alone!" Itachi yelled. He took a deep breath. "It isn't nice to pry into the affairs of others. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to return to my house."

"Oh no you don't, Itachi." Shisui cut him off. "You haven't revealed the village's secrets to me. There's got to be something interesting to share."

"There was nothing. It was just a basic mission, that is all." Itachi said. He liked being with Shisui, despite his teasing, but he only really wanted to talk with Fugaku on the matter.

 **Deception's level has increased by one.**

Itachi was growing to despise the text box's sense of timing for such things. He flicked it away with a thought.

"Ah, alright then." Shisui said. He knew when enough was enough, and gave his goodbye. "Well, see you around then. Say hi to your parents and Sasuke for me!" He vanished, leaving Itachi alone to finish walking home.

He gave pause for a moment. He'd been a bit, preoccupied with accomplishing his goals, and it'd hurt his friendships. Izumi, of course, had come to him and told him straight out about his wrong, or at least, that's what the text boxes had told him.

But Shisui, Shisui was different. He was actually rather polite and would probably never bring it up with him. He felt bad that he'd chased him off so quickly. Perhaps he'd have to spar with him in his next span of free time.

 **Through addressing that your behaviour requires amendments, your Wisdom increases by one.**

As Itachi had learned over the years, it never hurt to stop and think about things sometimes. His only regret in this case is that he didn't exactly have the time to make it up to Shisui today, nor did he even know where he went if he had the time.

But there was no use in trying to do something he couldn't. So Itachi just returned home. It didn't take him long, and his arrival was greeted by a happy Sasuke.

"Nii-San! You're home!" He ran up to Itachi, who picked him up.

"Sorry I'm late, Izumi wanted to spend some time with me." Itachi said.

"You should do a better job of keeping your girlfriend happy." Sasuke told him. Not him too… Itachi should really try to keep better tabs on who Sasuke hung out with.

"Welcome home, Itachi. Your father isn't back from work yet," said Mikoto as she joined them. Itachi gave a small bow towards her as he put Sasuke down.

"Hello, Oka-san." he said. "I've returned from a successful day as an ANBU operative."

"Please, save that for your father." She scolded him. "But I'm glad your first day went well."

"Nii-san, Nii-san!" Their conversation was cut short by Sasuke tugging on Itachi's shirt. "Guess what happened today in the academy!"

"Hm…" Itachi mock thought aloud for a few moments.

 **Sasuke is unconvinced by your actions.**

Itachi couldn't help it. There was very little he'd keep hidden from him willfully.

"Come on, I know you know." Sasuke said.

"Alright, Sasuke. Today was sparring day, wasn't it? Who did you win against?" Itachi asked, dropping his false ignorance.

"It was Naruto, the loud mouth kid who thinks he's so great. You should have seen him when he lost." Sasuke let the information pour out of him. Itachi frowned slightly.

"How well did he fight?" He asked.

"Well…" Sasuke thought for a moment. "He tried really hard, but he wasn't a match for me." He saw Itachi's disappointment and quickly added, "but he fought well. His passion was unmatched today." The shift in tone was indicative of Sasuke trying to act like Itachi when he was formal.

"That's good, Sasuke." Itachi told him. And fortunately for Itachi, Fugaku opened the door.

"I have returned from my long day at work-" He cut himself off when he saw Itachi. "Hello, I didn't expect you to be home this early, Itachi."

"Otou-san" Itachi greeted him before responding. "Today was an introductory mission. I was done early, but spent some time with Izumi before returning home."

"You are an Uchiha." Thinly veiled discontent plagued his voice. "Did they doubt your abilities?"

"No, Otou-san. It was a given that I would excel." It wasn't a lie exactly, which made Itachi a bit uneasy. He didn't know anything about Fugaku's stats, so there was a very real chance he'd see through it.

"So why did they give you such a trivial assignment?" He demanded.

"As my partner told me, it was standard procedure. I'm certain that tomorrow I will be assigned to something more appropriate for an Uchiha." Itachi said. His father took a few moments to process the information.

"What did they have you do?" He asked. Now came the part Itachi was dreading. The incident with the shop owner would come up, and Itachi was not looking forward to explaining it to Fugaku.

"We ran a short patrol of the village as an assessment of my stealth. I met their expectations with no issue." Itachi answered. He knew Fugaku's next question, but he was still going to try and delay the inevitable.

"Did anything happen during this assessment?" Itachi had guessed correctly. He took a deep breath to calm himself.

"There was an incident with a person refusing to pay at a restaurant. We intervened." Itachi paused for a moment. "It would have fallen to the Police Force, but the owner was adamant in not contacting them."

"I see…" His father said. He thought for a great while before giving a follow up. "So the distrust of the Uchiha is spreading more amongst civilians, and it's making them more hesitant to contact us for help. I will have to get more patrols out to ensure we can still keep the peace. Thank you, Itachi."

"Otou-san?" Sasuke, who had been respectfully quiet, suddenly spoke up. "Why don't people like the Uchiha?" He asked. Mikoto's voice saved Fugaku from answering..

"Dinnertime! Who wants Teriyaki chicken and rice?" She asked.

"I do, Oka-san!" Sasuke said, his eyes wide in delight, and his question forgotten at the prospect of food. Itachi couldn't be sure, but Fugaku seemed to be relieved that the question was deflected.

Dinner was more or less a set affair. It was always the same. Itachi's mother would tell them dinner was ready, the table would be set, and they'd take their places. The food would be brought out, thanks would be given, and then they'd eat in silence.

Afterwards, the dishes for the meal would be cleaned by Itachi and Sasuke while Fugaku retired to his study to deal with work and Mikoto relaxed. This dinner was no different. It was characteristically Uchiha in how it was treated. Precise, and done in defined, well-established steps.

Itachi enjoyed doing the dishes, and like many other aspects of his life, his power reflected this. He'd accrued a large number of levels for his skill, Dish Cleaning.

 **Dish Cleaning's level has increased by one.**

Right on time, as it always was when Itachi made predictions on when his next level up would come. He attributed it to his rather high Intelligence. It towered above the average person, in part thanks to his Prodigy trait.

Itachi's mind wandered to his new job. On the way home, he'd seen that he was only a few experience points from reaching Level 9. He was excited to have more points to work with on his general stats, and he was grateful as he was already feeling his free time slip away from him, mostly because of his job.

But just like that, the dishes were done, and Sasuke excused himself. Itachi was glad that he had other things to do tonight. Between his job, being with Izumi, and talking to his father, there was nothing more that he wanted to do than go to bed right now.

Exhaustion had nothing to do with it. He couldn't get physically tired thanks to his power. But still, there was only so much activity Itachi could deal with in any given day. So it was he bid Sasuke and his mother and father good night. Itachi was grateful for their understanding, and went to his room, falling swiftly into a peaceful sleep.

 **A/N: It's a shorter chapter, and really I never expected this to be as good as the last one. I know that the Gamer ability is fairly muted here, but I didn't want to put it in more than was justified. I also know that short chapters are a bit annoying, but this is more or less how I write. I'm not a fan of the 5k chapters. If a chapter flows well to a point, then that's where it gets cut off. Anyways, thanks for reading.**


	5. Of Murder and Paperwork

Itachi awoke to the usual message about his HP and MP being restored. He went through the same motions he had the day before: change out of his pajamas, fold them, store them, eat breakfast, leave. Among the many perks his power brought him was the lack of need for food. Itachi remembered the strangeness to have a body unfettered by hunger.

But he still ate food, mainly to keep up appearances. That, and for the minor HP recovery it gave if he'd been on a mission or if he'd even hurt himself throughout the day. Itachi couldn't spend too much thinking about miscellaneous thing though, he had to meet up with Kakashi for today's mission. And so, it felt like barely any time had passed before he met up with him.

"Today will be something more suited to your skills. There have been reports of a missing nin attacking homesteads on the fringe of Konoha. It's our job to eliminate him." Kakashi said.

 **Mandatory Quest  
** **Eliminate the Missing Nin**

 **A missing nin has made himself far too comfortable preying on innocents. Set him straight, permanently.**

 **Completion Award: 3500 XP  
** **Increased Standing in ANBU**

 **Completion Failure: Decreased Standing in ANBU  
** **Possible Dismissal**

"Lead the way." Itachi said, dismissing the quest information window. Kakashi leapt up into the trees and Itachi followed. Their journey was short. Soon, they arrived at a small group of houses.

"This was the last place he attacked. The villagers managed to draw blood when they engaged him. We're stopping to get the missing nin's scent." Kakashi explained. Itachi merely hung back while Kakashi collected a bloodstained kunai. He took a moment to use Observe on it.

 **Bloody Kunai (Quest Item):  
** **Someone got hit with this in battle. The wounded person's scent should still be on it.**

There wasn't anything else of note about it. Kakashi summoned a small dog, talking to it for a moment before letting it sniff the kunai. They leapt back up into the trees and followed the dog towards their target.

"I know this is fairly basic, but there's only so much to go around." Kakashi said as they made their way through the trees.

"I understand." Itachi replied.

"So what do you make of our target?" Kakashi asked. He wasn't letting the conversation die yet.

"I'd say he won't be a challenge. The villagers back there couldn't have been above chunin level. To be hurt by them, our target can't be that skilled." Itachi remarked.

"We still have to be careful." Kakashi said. "We don't know if that wound was a lucky break on the villager's part. And I suspect he's prepared. You can't just pillage from a shinobi nation without expecting retaliation."

"I still have faith the mission will be-" Itachi was cut off by Kakashi's signal to him. They'd found their target. He had just finished bathing, and was getting himself dressed. Itachi noted a small cut on his arm that was beginning to heal up.

Other than that, there was nothing overly remarkable about their target. He was of average height and of average build. Itachi took note of the target's level.

 **Missing Nin  
** **LV 9**

It confirmed his suspicion that he couldn't be that much of a threat. A quick look at his stats placed his skill at comfortably below Itachi. As he had guessed, his skill as a shinobi was also average. Itachi's thoughts were interrupted by Kakashi.

"I've heard a lot about your abilities as a Shinobi. I'm glad I get to finally see them in action." He made a motion to indicate the kill was Itachi's. He gave nod, and moved in for the kill. Itachi was not one for showmanship, and so, flung a kunai at his target.

 **Battle!**

Whatever Itachi's personal opinion on efficiency, his power had other plans when it came to fights. When the kunai hit the man, the world felt like it blanked out for a moment, and when it came back, the two were standing opposite of each other in the clearing, which acted as a battle zone.

 **Preemptive Strike! Opponent Unaware!**

It'd been awhile since Itachi had been in a battle, but the way battles were conducted came back easily. Attacking an opponent to start a battle put damage on them before the fight had actually started. Better yet was if the opponent was **Unaware** , as it increased the damage done by the **Preemptive Strike**.

 **You take the Initiative.**

Another benefit to attacking first was that it always him a full **Action Bar** at the start of the fight.. Part of the oddity of Itachi's power was that battles weren't normal. Each person in the fight couldn't attack or use skills until their **Action Bar** was filled up. The speed at which it filled up was dictated by a person's **Dex**.

Itachi had taken out a quarter of the target's health with his **Preemptive Strike.** He selected the **Attack** option and then used **Kunai.** Training his **Thrown Weapons** ensured his accuracy was pinpoint, and that he could launch more of them per attack. His opponent's HP bar drained quickly under the barrage of kunai.

 **Battle Victory! You gain 350 (+105) XP!**

 **Your level increases by one!**

Itachi had almost forgotten about his experience boost from his traits. His power placed value on being an Uchiha, which awarded him a bonus 10% on all non-quest XP, and being a Prodigy added another 20%. He ignored the list of mostly useless things he'd gotten from defeating his target and the world resumed as it had before the battle had started.

He was still next to Kakashi, and their target lay dead. Itachi had never figured out what other people saw while he was in a battle. His stat points could wait until he wasn't busy with something. He liked to think thoroughly about where they'd go.

"That took no time at all." Kakashi remarked. "It was a pleasure to see even a brief show of skill."

"Thank you." Itachi said. It was mostly out of courtesy. Fugaku always praised him for his accomplishments, and Itachi felt nothing from compliments. He went down to collect his kunai..

"We'll need to collect the body and report back." Kakashi said. He looked up and saw that it was still fairly early in the day. "Maybe we'll even get another mission," he added.

"Perhaps…" Itachi mused as he sealed the body away. "It feels like a waste of a day to do only one short mission."

They were soon on their way back to the village. The journey didn't take very long, and upon their arrival, Kakashi lead Itachi to the the ANBU office. It was a simplistic room, with just enough in it to ensure reports could be processed in a timely manner. Itachi was all for letting Kakashi do the paperwork, but Kakashi insisted that he learned.

"Part of our job is filing reports for missions completed. I won't always be here to do it for you." Kakashi said in response to Itachi's reasoning. "Besides," he added, "as your teacher I expect that you do it occasionally for me." Itachi could tell he was smiling behind the mask.

"I suppose learning now is better than learning later." Itachi conceded. "Where are the forms?" Kakashi produced one he'd gotten earlier and gave it to Itachi.

"It's an easy process, just a bit long." Kakashi told him. Itachi looked at the form. Kakashi was right, none of the fields were complicated, there was just a lot of them. He began writing and was done within half an hour.

 **A skill has been created through a special act.  
** **Through filling out paperwork, the "Paperwork Completion" skill has been created.**

Itachi found himself not pleased by this skill. It'd most definitely level up quickly with the frequency at which he'd need it. That meant he'd get better, and Kakashi would have an excuse to dump it onto him. That'd just lead to him getting even better. This would be one skill he'd have to try and keep suppressed.

"Not bad for your first time." Kakashi remarked. "But it could've been done a lot faster. You'll have to do more to get better." Itachi was under the distinct impression Kakashi was enjoying himself a bit too much.

"Can we just try and get another mission?" Itachi asked.

"Eager for that paperwork? I'll see what I can do." And Kakashi made himself scarce. Itachi felt stupid for not seeing that coming until after the words had left his mouth. Fortunately, Kakashi wasn't gone for too long. "We've got a mission to tail some Konoha nin and protect them on their journey." He said upon his return.

"What's the catch?" Itachi asked.

"These people are on their way to a negotiation." Kakashi said in a lowered voice. "There's a high chance that they'll be attacked on their way to the meeting."

"What else?" Itachi pressed for more details.

"In the case they should try to betray Konoha, we are to eliminate them." Kakashi explained. It was at this moment that Itachi got the quest alert.

 **Mandatory Quest  
** **Escorts and Traitors**

 **Some Konoha nin need protection on their travels. It's your job to keep them safe unless they try to betray Konoha.**

 **Completion Award: 5000 XP  
** **Increased respect from Kakashi  
** **Increased standing within ANBU**

 **Completion Failure:** **Decreased standing in ANBU  
** **Konoha information leaked  
** **Quest: Corrections**

This was a first for Itachi. He'd never had a quest where the objective could change based on the actions of others. However, the more troubling thing was that the quest window told him that the Konoha nin would betray them.

Did his power give him limited sight into the future? It was troubling to consider. More importantly, what should he do? He felt obligated to tell Kakashi about the outcome of the mission, but he felt like Kakashi wouldn't trust him. Nor did he want to seem any amount of strange or to draw attention to himself.

No, he'd keep this a secret. But he'd be prepared when the time came. He could put Kakashi on edge by talking about the possibility of betrayal frequently. Not a perfect plan, but it would work. He wouldn't withhold the information, at least, not completely.

"Itachi?" Kakashi asked, snapping Itachi out of his thoughts. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yes." Itachi said and the two left the building, heading towards their escortees.

 **A/N: So I know that the Gamer has no "battle system" but I've gotten a bit tired of reading fight scenes with numbers and stuff in them, so this is my own amalgamation to try and have something that better suits it. And yes, this is a mission from the anime. (no rehash I swear!)**


	6. Crow

There was something to be said about ANBU operating procedure. They were to protect the negotiators, but it was at a distance. Itachi had the distinct feeling that not even they knew that they were being followed. It was an unexpected difficulty, and yet Itachi felt relieved to have something that was more of a challenge for him. He looked down upon their charges.

 **Konoha Nin  
** **LVL 20**

 **Konoha Nin  
** **LVL 23**

 **Konoha Nin  
** **LVL 21**

It felt odd that such a high risk mission was starting during the day. Itachi remembered his vision for ANBU, always in the shadows, never seen, yet always effective and ever present. But now was not the time. Their charges were on the move. He gave a glance at Kakashi, who signalled to him. They began following at a distance.

Following a person was easy. They didn't pay too much attention and instead focused on normal problems like, "what will I eat for dinner" or "What a nice day out." Following a shinobi was much different. Even on a mission like this, they were still on edge, all senses tuned to try and tip them off on potential enemies.

But none of this mattered to Itachi. Among his skills was **Stealth** , and despite being low leveled compared to his other skills, it was still enough to get him by. He hadn't bothered learning the specifics of it, just that he had a small display for how aware a person was, and if he'd been noticed or not.

 **Stealth's level has increased by one.**

A happy ding accompanied the message. It was almost as if his power were in tune with his thoughts. There was something that bothered Itachi, besides the betrayal looming, and that was the mission itself. Itachi thought himself patient, but as the time slowly ticked away as they followed their charges, he found himself less and less able to focus.

Kakashi had remained silent the entire time. Itachi would've liked it if he had said even a word or two, but there was the risk of giving themselves away. He glanced over at him for a brief moment. The mask betrayed nothing. Itachi got the feeling that even if he could see Kakashi's face, he might as well have been staring at the mask.

Suddenly, an unnatural noise. The Konoha nin halted. Kakashi and Itachi froze. The rustling of the leaves in the wind grated upon the silence. Another sharp noise and a kunai flew at the nin. Itachi reached for one of his out of instinct. Kakashi stopped him. They waited.

A pair of ninja leaped at the trio they'd been following.

 **Criminal  
** **LVL 12**

 **Criminal  
** **LVL 14**

Itachi saw their levels and relaxed. They were no threat. Their savage faces turned to fear as they realized their mistake. It was over in a flurry of kunai from a coordinated attack. They paused for a moment to reclaim some of the weaponry and check on everyone.

"Something doesn't feel right." Kakashi said, finally breaking the silence.

"Missing nin generally know not to mess with other shinobi." Itachi remarked.

"Exactly, so someone probably sent this attack. Or these missing nin were incredibly stupid. Either way, we should be on guard in case anything else should happen." Kakashi finished.

"Or maybe it was just complete chance. A couple of inexperienced shinobi trying to score some goods-" Itachi added.

"They're on the move." Kakashi cut him off. Itachi had hoped they'd stayed there for just a minute longer. He'd wanted to plant the idea of a possible betrayal from their side. Hearing his voice had also been a welcome break from the silence between them.

They moved on without incident as the day burned up. The sun set and the three konoha nin set up camp. Kakashi and Itachi followed suit, except theirs was far less comfortable. Itachi offered to take the first watch since he didn't actually need to sleep anymore. There was even less to do when they weren't moving.

Itachi took a little bit to fit in some meditation. There wasn't any real reason to try raising his skills, as he had guessed that it'd take too much time to raise it even once. He just did it to keep his mind focused on something until it was his turn to "sleep."

And so the night passed, and they returned to their journey. It was about midday when they finally made it to the meeting point. They'd long since left the Land of Fire and were now in the Land of Woods. Visually it wasn't different from the woods around Konoha. But the mood was completely different. This was farther than Itachi had been from the village in a while. That and this mission was among the more crucial ones he'd been one.

Kakashi motioned to Itachi to move into position across the meeting spot. Then they waited. It wasn't long before the other party showed up to the clearing. They were dressed almost like ANBU, except their masks were more uniform and demonic based rather than animal based.

 **Prajñā Member  
** **LVL 20**

 **Prajñā Member  
** **LVL 24**

 **Prajñā Member  
** **LVL 23**

This was slightly more concerning than the random shinobi that had attacked them the day before. He was sure that with their presence, there wasn't a real threat, but he couldn't relax. There was still that betrayal. He wasn't sure when it'd come, or how it'd play out, just that it was coming.

"We are grateful for this opportunity to discuss peace." The leader of the Konoha group said. It was just generic political motions as were required for such a situation. The others added in their parts before the other party responded.

"The Land of Woods is pleased to meet with you. Did you bring the scroll?" The other leader asked.

"Of course, we'd hate to ruin this alliance before it began." He responded, producing a scroll from an unseen seal. Itachi was put on edge before taking a deep breath. There was something wrong with this. It was as if it was a planned interaction, like they knew they were being watched.

He caught Kakashi's eye and motioned towards the group below. He nodded in understanding and they got ready to make a move upon the group below.

"Thank you for the information. Now all you have to do is hand over your scroll and we'll call this a successful step towards peace." the Prajñā member said. He held out his hand for the scroll.

"Of course. Here's the information." There was a small grin that creeped onto the Konoha nin's face. Itachi prepared for combat.

"Thank you. We'll just check this and be on our way." Kakashi moved around to catch a glimpse at what was on the scroll. Within moments, Kakashi leapt down to attack. Itachi followed suit.

 **Battle!  
** **Preemptive Strike!  
** **You take the initiative!**

It was a 3 on 1 battle at minimum, so Itachi immediately went for a debilitating move. He scrolled through the menus,

 **Genjutsu  
Crow Storm**,

and quickly subdued the Konoha nin. They all were afflicted with the **Paralyzed** attribute for 2 turns. Itachi couldn't risk putting any more chakra into the attack in case others showed up.

He scrolled through again and selected **Kunai** as his attack. Itachi felt a bit of panic. Even with his stat boosts and advantage going in, his attack still left the first enemy with a third of his health. He could only take care of one of them before his genjutsu wore off.

There was another disadvantage he was at. He had no idea how Kakashi was doing. He paused for a moment. There was nothing he could do until he took out the threat before him. So he finished off the injured enemy and prepared for the retaliation.

A number of kunai were sent Itachi's way. He took the hits as he learned long ago there was nothing he could do about it. Already it felt like he'd be cutting it a bit close with his HP meter. His turn came around again. He could just use more kunai attacks and conserve stamina just in case, or he could use another skill to finish it quicker.

He thought about it for a moment, and went through his menus.

 **Skills  
** **Dual Slash.**

Itachi got a small amount of satisfaction from watching the enemy go down in a single turn. The last enemy hesitated a moment before attempting to **Flee.**

A timer started counting down at the top of Itachi's vision. He had 10 seconds to deal enough damage to cancel the **Flee** attempt. Even with just the basic **Kunai,** it was enough. Then Itachi simply waited for his turn again, and finished off the enemy.

 **Battle Victory! You gain 1160 (+348) XP!**

The world returned to normal, and Itachi caught the last of Kakashi's battle. It'd taken them both about the same amount of time to kill of the members of the Prajñā group. He retrieved the scroll and tossed it to Itachi.

 **Information Scroll (Quest Item):  
** **This scroll was supposed to only have some low level secrets as a sign of trust. Instead, it has vital information that could compromise Konoha missions.**

So this is what the betrayal had been. He stowed away the scroll to turn in later with the paperwork. Kakashi had started on cleanup but stopped and walked up to Itachi.

"Looks like 'Crow' would be a fitting codename for you." He remarked. "Although I have to say, you're efficiency is a bit concerning."

"What's the problem?" Itachi asked. "They were posing a threat to the village. I took care of the threat, as expected of me." Kakashi removed his mask.

"Devotion to the village and the Shinobi code is a dangerous route." His tone was off putting to Itachi. It was clear that Kakashi was telling him not to follow this path. "It will cause problems if you neglect your friends."

"I see…" Itachi said. The Gamer's Mind came to his thoughts. He'd just killed some Konoha ninja without hesitation. He hadn't even thought about capturing them for more information, or even about showing the slightest bit of mercy. They'd been traitors, but they'd also been fellow shinobi of the Leaf, even if he hadn't known them. "I'll keep your words in mind." He bowed.

"Alright then," Kakashi's face immediately lightened up. "Let's return to the village." They packed up the last of the corpses and headed out. Itachi put the prospect of paperwork out of his mind.

The journey back was a lot less strict and formal for the duo. Itachi and Kakashi talked to take up the time as they travelled. It was nothing of importance, just small talk. It made the trip back a lot more bearable without the silence or the mission hanging above them.

Kakashi had been kind enough to take up the paperwork for this mission, though Itachi got the feeling it wasn't out of kindness, and so he was free to return home. But he stopped himself. Kakashi's words about friends echoed in his mind and he remembered that he'd wanted to spar with Shisui. He'd been meaning to for a while.

He reversed his direction, and headed towards Shisui's favorite training grounds.

 **A/N: Sorry for the delay. I was having trouble with this chapter and work and school didn't help. Not an overly great chapter, but it's set up a nice series of events that should be a fun time. So, hope you enjoyed, and thanks for reading. (Also, updates should be more frequent now.)**

 **Oh yeah, and now there's a cover image. I thought I had it up since chapter 1 but apparently not. Oops**


	7. Shisui

Itachi approached the training grounds, only to find that they were empty. He turned away only to find himself face to face with Shisui.

"Looking for me?" Damn it Shisui…

"Yes. I believe I owe you at least one sparring session." Itachi said.

"Hmmmmm,"Shisui rubbed his chin in mock thought, "I think your recent absence is worth at least 2 or 3 sessions. Beating up on people who had no chance won't do your skills much good." He shook his head at him as if he were scolding him.

"Whatever you say… Shisui." Itachi made sure that his voice was flat. "Shall we begin?"

"All right, loser has to buy dango for the winner." Shisui said, taking up his position opposite of Itachi within the ring. Itachi shook his head. At least his odd power didn't make his sparring sessions a set process.

 **Training! Start!**

Shisui made the first move, a simple punch. Itachi ducked under it and returned with one of his own. Shisui mirrored his move and they were left right in each other's faces. A mischievous determination shone in Shisui's eyes. He gave Itachi a smile before breaking away.

They went at each other again.

This is what Itachi lived for. It was like he was a normal person and his life wasn't run by text boxes and numbers. It was just him and Shisui, fighting but not fighting. Itachi's mind snapped back to the spar. Shisui had been careless and left a spot on the left side of his torso.

Itachi made a quick snake around Shisui's arm, striking him in the unguarded spot. Shisui smiled at him and delivered a punch to the chest in retaliation. Itachi flew backwards and slid almost to edge of the ring.

"Almost, Shisui, almost." Itachi taunted. With a sweeping movement from his legs, Itachi forced Shisui to jump as he ran at him. He liked Shisui, ever since they'd met. The war had left its marks on both of them, and Shisui understood what he felt. Shisui was like the older brother he never had.

As much as he liked him though, his blows hurt, at least, for the single moment before the Gamer's Body took over. He'd been too absorbed in his thoughts, and Shisui had punished him for it. He'd gotten a harsh kick to the stomach. Shisui didn't want it to end just yet.

Itachi took advantage and kicked Shisui's shin. It didn't matter who it was, the shin was still painful place to get hit. Itachi followed up with a kick that was aimed at his chest, but Shisui was too fast. He caught Itachi's foot and yanked it up. For a brief moment, he hung upside down.

"It's no fair that you're so tall." Itachi said as he looked up at Shisui. He laughed.

"Whining isn't characteristic of an Uchiha." he replied. Itachi "replied" with a blow to Shisui's stomach. "Neither are cheap shots. You should be ashamed of yourself." Shisui unceremoniously dropped Itachi on his head and danced away.

Itachi pulled himself to his feet and went after Shisui. He didn't move. Instead, he gazed into Itachi's eyes, his pupils already whirling into crimson. So it was going to be one of those spars. Itachi's vision shifted as he activated his own Sharingan. They froze.

Shisui started them out. It was a simple illusion. Shisui's form began to flicker at the edges, and then he was gone. Itachi began feeling out for his presence. There, behind a nearby tree. He was one crow, then two, and then a veritable storm.

He raced to the position, his arm already reforming with a kunai in hand. He flung it. Shisui jumped and Itachi followed his movements, waiting for him to land. But he never did. He glared up at him.

"What? It's genjutsu and this isn't serious. I can fly if I want." He laughed at Itachi, who was still grounded. He had no choice but to leap up to meet him.

Itachi was level with Shisui. He gave one look at him before turning and flying away at impossible speeds. Itachi followed suit. His surroundings were an indistinguishable blur as they raced past. All that mattered was Shisui. He went faster and faster, yet was never able to catch up.

He started flinging kunai at him, but he just flitted about them. Not wanting it to be boring, Shisui sent a return volley. Itachi opted to simply block them. The back and forth continued, and they slowed down. Slower and slower, until they stopped, right where they'd begun.

"Well Itachi, you're good, but it's time to end this." Itachi bore a hole through him with his glare. Shisui laughed it off as flesh weaved together to repair the hole Itachi had left. Shisui made a few more movements before he vanished into a large cloud of smoke.

Itachi reached out again for his presence. He was still in the smoke cloud. He waited for Shisui to make a move. The smoke cleared and Itachi hastily made an addition to the illusion. Shisui was topless, and had given himself certain assets.

They bobbed and swayed happily as he was laughing hysterically. Itachi's addition had kept it at least mostly decent.

"I'm 11. You're sick for tempting me with such imagery." Itachi said. "I can't believe you were lecturing me about being proper."

"Oh come on, it's a joke." Shisui replied as the genjutsu faded away. "You can't be that upset."

"Whatever…" Itachi gave him a shove, making him fall out of the ring. "I win."

"I knew I shouldn't have tempted you with dango." Shisui muttered to himself.

* * *

Itachi looked down at the empty plate. He regretted eating it so fast, but dango was always so good. He looked up at Shisui, who still had a decent number of them left.

"Sorry Itachi, you ate yours already." He preemptively responded to the question. "Besides, you scolded me for my little prank." He made to eat his dango as slowly as possible.

"I wasn't going to ask. I just want you to hurry up, it's late." Itachi replied dryly.

"Yeah sure, whatever." Shisui said as he began to eat faster. Within minutes, his plate was clean too, and the two left.

"Thanks for the dango." Itachi said after a bit of silence.

"No problem, you won after all. Next time I won't go so easy though, so save your money." Shisui replied.

"Does that mean you'll turn yourself into a naked woman at the beginning then?" Itachi looked him dead in the eyes, his face devoid of expression.

"Nah, though if you want me to I can do it sooner." Shisui winked. Itachi turned away as fast as he could. Shisui waited a moment. "So, what did you do today?"

"I put a stop to a betrayal from some of our own." Itachi's voice was flat.

"Not what you expected?" Shisui asked.

"I dealt with it as I thought appropriate. But," he paused, "my partner gave me a stern lecture about my behaviour afterwards."

"Should I go have a word with him?" Shisui looked at Itachi. His gaze was focused only on the road before them.

"No, it wasn't unpleasant, it's just," another pause from Itachi, "I didn't expect him to say what he did, or that it'd as helpful as it was." He turned and looked up at Shisui. "It's why I came to spar with you tonight."

"Oh, well that's good then." He turned his own gaze to the road ahead. "As long as you thought it was okay, then it's fine."

There was a span of silence until it was time for them to part ways.

"I forgot how fun sparring is. We'll have to remember to make time for it in the future." Itachi said. "So I can stay in top form," he hastily added.

"Yeah, I need to keep myself in top form too." Shisui replied. "Anyways, night." And before Itachi could say anything more, he was gone. He sighed and continued walking.

"Welcome home Itachi, Sasuke's asleep already," Mikoto said as he walked in. She pointed to a spot in the living room. "He fell asleep there waiting for you. Would you like something to eat?"

"No thank you, Shisui treated me to dango after we sparred." Itachi responded.

"Okay then. How was your mission?" She asked.

"It was about what I expected." He said.

 **Deception Failed**

"I see. Well, I'm sure you're tired, so I'll let you go to sleep." She said sweetly.

"Thank you. Good night." Itachi said, leaving his mother alone in the living room.

It was odd. Itachi knew that he couldn't feel exhausted as others could, that he didn't get tired as other did. Yet he felt… drained. Whether it'd been Kakashi's talk to his time with Shisui he couldn't tell. All he knew was that it'd been a long day and that his bed felt soft.

He almost didn't bother with pajamas, but 11 years of routine were not easily shorn, and he found himself in pajamas anyways. He sank into bed. It was soft. He closed his eyes and let himself drift into his imitation of sleep.

 **A/N: It was slightly gay and that's okay. This chapter was a lot of fun to write, although a bit weird after just jumping from the last chapter to this. I got really excited and wrote the last chapter btw..**

 **But anyways this is just a bit of filler of sorts before the last bit of happy nonsense. And then the first part will conclude and it skips to Itachi's promotion to captain. This first part is mainly to establish relationships and such so that I can rip them away from Itachi later.**

 **That's about it though. So as usual, thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed.**

 **P.S.** **This is on SB, and it gets updated about a day before this one, so if you want you can find it there too**


	8. On the Road Again

Itachi awoke as usual and went through his morning routine: change clothes, make his bed, eat breakfast, brush his teeth, leave. He made sure to stop by Sasuke's room, just to make sure everything with him was okay. He was sleeping peacefully. He didn't see any sign of Fugaku or his mother as he walked out the door. He used **Observe** a few times to occupy himself as he walked.

 **Plastic bag:  
** **Someone didn't choose paper. It's trash on the ground, there's nothing interesting about it. I doubt you could come up with anything better.**

 **Herring bones:  
** **Maybe a cat ate it? Or maybe it's just a ruse. Or maybe someone felled the largest tree with it. Much like other refuse, there's nothing of note about it.**

Itachi made a mental note to be more mindful of what he observed in the future. Nothing else caught his eye, so all and all, it was an uneventful trip to the Hokage tower to receive his next assignment. It was a bit emptier than usual. The only person Itachi could see was Kakashi, who had been waiting for him to arrive.

"Danzo wanted to see you before our next assignment, he's waiting in his office," he said, pointing in the general direction.

"Danzo?" Itachi asked.

"He just runs a subsection of ANBU. You should feel proud, he only seeks out people he believes can succeed in his program." Kakashi explained. Itachi felt pleasantly surprised. He'd managed to distinguish himself after one real mission. He made a quick bow towards Kakashi before heading off to meet Danzo.

"Come in, I've been expecting you." A voice called from beyond the door Itachi had knocked on. Itachi obliged. Danzo was sitting behind a desk, paperwork sorted into 2 stacks.

 **Danzo Shimura  
** **LVL ?**

Itachi wondered just how many people in Konoha had their level hidden from him. As far as first impressions went, however, Danzo looked older than he'd anticipated. Too old, even.

"Kakashi-" Itachi began.

"Do not bother." Danzo cut him off, "and I'd advise against using real names in Anbu, Crow." Itachi nodded.

"Why did you call me here?" He asked from behind his mask.

"I read the report of yesterday's mission. Your actions have made me take an interest in you." Itachi was unsure what to think. Danzo sounded too mechanical, like he was giving a memorized speech. "I think you'd succeed in ROOT."

"Forgive me, but what is ROOT?" Itachi asked. He had never heard anything about them, except from what Kakashi had told him a few minutes ago.

"It doesn't surprise me you haven't heard of them yet," there was a hint of pride in Danzo's voice, "You just joined ANBU recently. ROOT is an organization that operates in the shadows of even ANBU."

"What is their goal?" If Itachi was going to up and join Danzo without knowing what he was trying to accomplish.

"To support Konoha from beneath, taking on the most covert missions for its safety," he answered. "I have said enough about ROOT, now I ask that you give me your response."

 **Title Offer: ROOT  
** **Complete loyalty to Konoha  
** **Increased Reputation with Danzo  
** **?**

Itachi thought about it. He had joined ANBU in order to please his father, and to prove to the village the Uchiha we're beneficial to them. To join a technically nonexistent organization would not help. It'd go against his father's wishes. He didn't think the third benefit would convince him otherwise either. But even at that he had other reasons too.

 **Offer Rejected**

"I'm sorry," Itachi told him, "I have a mission to complete in ANBU, and I will not leave until it is done." Danzo scrutinized him.

"You are one of the select few I have picked for my organization that was not picked from childhood." There was a definite edge in his voice as he leaned forward ever so slightly. "This is a valuable offer, and I'd hate to see your talent go to waste."

"I'm sorry." Itachi put a little force into his voice and looked straight at Danzo from behind the mask. "ROOT does not fulfill my needs."

"Very well," Danzo leaned back somewhat in his chair, "please, go attend to your duties." He motioned towards the door. Itachi took it as he wanted him out.

"What did he want?" Kakashi asked as soon as Itachi left the room. Itachi got the impression he was trying to eavesdrop but couldn't. Probably Danzo's doing somehow, he seemed a bit paranoid.

"He offered me a position in ROOT." Itachi said.

"Did you accept?" Kakashi asked. It sounded more like he was asking about if he caught a murderer, and he'd gotten a bit closer to Itachi.

"No," Itachi told him, "I said it wasn't for me." Kakashi instantly relaxed.

"Good, I was hoping you wouldn't make the same mistake I did," he said.

"You've had interactions with him before?" Itachi asked.

"Yeah," Kakashi answered, but he immediately deflected the conversation away from it. "We've got a new mission, and it's a long one." He sighed as he handed off the scroll.

 **Mandatory Quest  
** **Mansion Mystery**

 **The daimyo has requested ANBU's assistance in determining who stole the family heirloom. No one has left or arrived at the mansion since the discovery. The culprit is among them.**

 **Completion Award: 5000 EXP  
** **Favor with the daimyo**

 **Completion Failure: Decreased ties with the daimyo  
** **Quest: Make Amends**

It sounded like one of those mystery books from the 20 ryo bargain bin at the library. But one did not just refuse the daimyo. Itachi felt a bit bad for Sasuke, this was the longest he would not see him. He made a mental note to find a way to make it up to him upon his return.

"At least it looks like it will be an experience." Itachi offered, "it isn't every day you get to go to the daimyo's residence."

"I actually requested this type of mission to make sure you are competent in every mission," Kakashi explained. "We're still going by the book, although I have no doubt you'll perform well." Itachi knew Kakashi was smiling behind the mask.

* * *

They'd left 2 days ago, and it was the last night before they would reach their destination. Itachi and Kakashi were laying on the ground, staring up at the stars. The ground wasn't what they'd call comfortable, but it was better than sleeping in a tree.

Nothing of interest had happened this trip; no missing nin attacks, no enemies, no people. It had only been the two of them travelling. It was far more peaceful than the previous trip, or at least that's what Itachi thought. They were just drinking up the sight of the stars above them.

"Itachi, do you have any friends in the Uchiha clan?" Kakashi asked apropos of nothing.

"I would've thought you'd say something about the stars to break the silence." Itachi remarked.

"Nah," Kakashi said, "that'd be too cliche, like something out of the Icha Icha books." Itachi decided to ignore his partner's choice in literature. "Don't avoid the question," he added on.

"I do have a friend," Itachi answered, "Shisui Uchiha."

"What's he like?" Kakashi pressed for details.

"He's a disgrace to the Uchiha name." Itachi said flatly. Kakashi laughed.

"How so?" he asked.

"Well," Itachi thought for a moment, "he acts carefree and makes people laugh. Those are the two things that stick out to me."

"So he acts like a normal person? I hope his attitude spreads," Kakashi said in mock hope. "Why do you consider him a friend?"

"You ask a lot of questions." Itachi said, turning to face Kakashi. "Why?"

"I don't know." He looked at Itachi. The smile was apparent in his voice. "It's kind of fun to mess with people."

"You and Shisui would get along well." Itachi remarked. "We sparred yesterday and his last resort was giving himself breasts." The words triggered a rather violent bout of laughter from Kakashi.

"I wish my spars with Obito could've been like that." Kakashi mused after recovering.

"Obito?" Itachi asked, curious.

"Yeah, Obito…" Kakashi said. He looked back up at the stars. "He was a nuisance, always late, always trying to outdo me. He never could though."

"And?" Itachi took advantage and swapped roles with Kakashi.

"He was a friend that I didn't know I had until it was too late." Itachi wasn't sure if he wanted the conversation to continue.. "I lost him on a mission, but not before he taught me something…" he trailed off.

"Well?" Itachi asked after a minute, "You can't tell that story and not tell me what he taught you."

"Those who break the Shinobi rules are trash, but those who don't take care of their teammates are worse than trash."

"So that's why you talked to me." Itachi said.

"Yeah…" Kakashi replied. "Well, it's getting late, I think we should turn in for the night." It was clear to Itachi that he didn't want to take the conversation any further. He let it be and rolled over.

The morning came quickly. Itachi dismissed the usual message and reminded himself that today was the day they would arrive. There wasn't time to think on the past, only what lay ahead. He looked over at Kakashi.

Some of his usual exuberance was absent this morning. Itachi guessed it had to do with the conversation last night. He'd have to try and be careful not to bring it up so that Kakashi was happier.

It didn't take them that long to arrive, though Kakashi had remained silent for the rest of the trip. Itachi hoped he'd be fine. They walked up to the door of the mansion and knocked. A servant answered the door.

"Oh, you must be the ANBU members who were sent to solve our predicament. Come in." He bowed to the side, holding the door open so Kakashi and Itachi could enter.

The luxury of the decor and other things were mostly diminished for Itachi as upon entering the abode, he was greeted by a ding and a text box

 **Investigation! Start!**

Itachi's vision shifted and fixed itself. He tried looking left and found he couldn't. A slight panic came over him, until he saw the small arrow pointing to the left. He pushed it and his view shifted to the left. He saw an identical arrow but it was pointing right. He pressed it and his view returned to what it was originally.

This was new. Itachi couldn't recall ever experiencing something like this. He found a small tab labelled " **Items** " which acted as a shortcut to his **Inventory.** At least that was more convenient. He messed around with the interface before getting interrupted by Kakashi.

"Are you okay, Itachi? You're acting a bit weird." He said.

"Yes…" Itachi had to think fast. "I was just doing some preemptive investigating."

 **Deception Succeeded**

"All right then." Kakashi said. Itachi was glad he had his power as Kakashi hadn't sounded overly convinced.

"Right this way sirs!" The servant called. "Everyone is in here."

Kakashi followed. Itachi panicked yet again before noticing an arrow pointing in the direction the servant had left. He pushed it and joined the others.

 **A/N: I've been told the scene with Kakashi is bit borderline OOC. It's barely believable, and I think I may come back to change it at some point. Other than that I'm happy with this chapter. So thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed.**

 **P.S. This plot inspiration and suggestion came from ijnt, who wrote Blurred Lines. I highly recommend reading it.**


	9. Barriers

Itachi entered the room in which the guests resided in. There was just a smattering of people present. His first impression was that, of the 5 guests, no one was immediately suspicious.

"It is very good to see such a hasty response from Konoha," the daimyo said.

"Thank you, lord," Kakashi and Itachi replied in unison, bowing. "We understand that there has been a theft and we're here to assist in any way we can." Kakashi continued.

"Yes, very good." the daimyo said. He gestured at the occupants of the room. "These are all the people who were present when the discovery was made. I hope you find the thief who stole the family sword," and with that, the daimyo left them in the room.

"Shall we get to work?" Kakashi asked.

"Yes," was the reply. Itachi first used **Observe** on the occupants of the room, ignoring everything but their current mood.

 **Mr. Tanaka:**

 **But a simple gardener for the daimyo who's devoted to his job. His clothes are dirty, a sign he's been working recently.**

 **Feeling: anxious, a desire to work, concern**

 **Ms. Sato:**

 **The daimyo's doctor. She's wearing a semi-formal kimono, and is here for the daimyo's regular checkup. Kakashi seems to have caught her eye.**

 **Feeling: nervous, infatuated, concern**

 **Mr. Reigi:**

 **A family friend. Very well-dressed and has a rogue-ish mien about him.**

 **Feeling: guilty, nervous, anxious, tense**

 **Ms. Ryori:**

 **A portly woman who works as the daimyo's chef. Her cooking is quite excellent.**

 **Feeling: jolly, confused, concern**

 **Mr. Taio:**

 **The family servant. Waits on the daimyo and attends to various duties including cleaning. Always eager to please.**

 **Feeling: anxious, concern, impatient**

Itachi rolled his eyes at the names. But more importantly he'd discovered who the thief was. Everyone else was in the daimyo's service, everyone else was feeling concerned to some degree; the culprit was fairly obvious. He did some navigating and selected: **Call out Reigi as the thief.**

 **No! You don't have enough evidence!**

Itachi stared at the text box, dumbfounded. It looked like his power had some restrictions in certain situations. So Itachi did the only thing he could, he began interviewing each of the "suspects." Tanaka was first.

"So, what do you do for the daimyo?" Itachi asked.

"I tend to his many gardens, which serve both to please guests and provide the kitchen with fresh fruits and vegetables." He said. At least this seemed rather straightforward. He glanced over at Itachi, who had began talking to Sato. It was probably for the best.

"Where were you when the theft was discovered?" The mystery novels Itachi had read were bland and predictable, much like his current mission, but they had taught him the basics of investigation.

"I was tending to the gardens as I usually do." He looked desperately like he wanted to help, yet he had nothing helpful to say, like a kid trying to help his dad move a couch. That was the impression he gave Itachi.

 **Alibi: Tanaka was working in the gardens**

"Alright, I'll come back to you if I need anything else, thank you." Itachi ended the conversation. "Oh, and I want to see the gardens later," he added. Tanaka's eyes seemed to light up at the prospect. Itachi moved onto Taio.

"What do you do for the daimyo?" There was no reason not to start off gathering the same information.

"I am the house servant," he said with pride in his voice. "I ensure that the riff raff stay outside of his lordship's manor. I also keep the manor in top condition to keep his lordship happy. I make sure the halls are clean, the beds are made, and that every picture is hung straight."

"And what were you doing when the theft was discovered?" Itachi asked.

"It was approximately 7 PM 5 days ago that the daimyo called me to report the heirloom had stolen. At the time I'd been cleaning up the books that Reigi had distastefully left out," he answered. There'd been some amount of disgust at having to mention Reigi.

 **Clue Discovered: The timeframe of the incident**

 **Alibi: Taio was cleaning up the library**

"What had Reigi been reading?" Itachi asked. Given how it'd been going so far, it was probably going to be a history book detailing the expensive nature of the heirloom.

"Among the books that had been scattered about the library was a book on origami, with a rather poor attempt at a crane left inside, one of his lordship's romance books, a gift from one of the Sannin, and a book detailing the daimyo's family history." Taio said as he counted them off on his fingers.

 **Clue Discovered: Reigi had been reading a book about the daimyo's family history**

So he was making some progress. He thanked Taio and moved onto the man himself, Reigi. Kakashi was now interviewing the cook, and they were having a laugh about something. Itachi just wanted to get this over with.

"What do you do for the daimyo?" Itachi asked for the last time.

"Me, I don't do a thing for the daimyo, except, you know, be there for him. I'm just a family friend, our dads knew each other, same as their dads. Say, maybe one day we'll have a son and daughter who'll marry each other. Then we'll be family. It'd be great," He said. Itachi was amazed at how off topic he'd gotten.

"What were you doing when the theft was discovered?" Itachi asked, waiting for the inevitably false response.

"I was laying in my room, yeah. I was waiting for dinner and thought I'd have a little lie down. You know, long day, lots of stuff happening, it really wears you out." Something about his speech pattern was distinctly irritating to Itachi.

 **Deception detected**

There was no surprise there. Itachi went to ask him about his alibi and was greeted with another popup.

 **You need evidence to prove he's lying.**

Nothing was going to be simple about this mission, was it. He left Reigi alone and met up with Kakashi to discuss what they had learned.

"The theft was discovered at about 7 PM 5 days ago. They all have alibis, but Reigi's is a bit questionable." Itachi didn't waste any time. "How about you?"

"Let's see, I couldn't get much useful out of Sato besides she had just given the daimyo his checkup. Ryori had been cooking dinner and she'd just discovered some crumbs." Kakashi listed off.

 **Alibi: Sato was with the daimyo**

 **Alibi: Ryori was getting dinner ready**

 **Clue: Crumbs in the kitchen**

Itachi dismissed the popups in annoyance. If there was time later he'd have to see if he could disable them for the time being.

"I think we should look into the alibis first," Itachi said. "Should we split up?"

"I'll talk to the daimyo and check the kitchen." Kakashi replied. Itachi felt like he was trying to do as little work as possible. He couldn't argue though, those were the alibis he'd found.

"Okay then, we'll meet up an hour before dinner." Itachi said. Kakashi made himself scarce, and Itachi talked to Taio.

"Do you happen to have a map of the manor?" He asked. "I'd hate to keep you from your duties."

"I do indeed. I assumed you and your companion would be needing them to navigate the labyrinthine manor. Although it seems your partner has run off without it." Taio replied. He gave Itachi two maps. "Make sure you give this to him."

 **Items Obtained: Maps of the Mansion**

 **It shows you where you're going and where you've been. Makes navigating a cinch.**

One of the maps automatically went into Itachi's inventory. The other floated up to the top left corner of Itachi's vision and became a small representation of the mansion, a mini-map. Itachi reached up and touched it, and it responded by expanding to its full size.

He first headed out into the gardens. Kakashi could wait. Itachi was sure he'd be fine without the map. He was only going to the kitchen and talking with the daimyo after all. Tanaka was waiting for him.

"I'm sorry, I was not expecting you so soon. I have not finished my work for the evening." He said, bowing in apology. Itachi waved it off.

"Don't worry about it. I'm just here to make sure there's nothing unusual here." He said. Tanaka immediately left Itachi to resume his work. Itachi began tapping on things.

 **Garden:**

 **Fruits and vegetables are planted in neat rows. Some of them are missing crops, probably used for meals.**

 **Tanaka:**

 **He seems hard at work, it'd be best to leave him alone.**

 **Dirt path:**

 **A well worn path consisting of dirt. Nothing of interest here.**

Itachi found nothing worth noting, not that it surprised him. He'd just come out here to check on some things. As he was about to leave, the sun began reflecting off something metallic. Itachi tapped it.

 **Item Obtained: Fork**

 **It's a very fancy fork. But what's it doing out in the garden?**

It went to Itachi's inventory. He didn't really have time to ponder how it got out here, so he just started making his way to the library. Once there, he found that one of the books had been left out. He tapped on them to investigate.

 **Icha Icha Book:**

 **This isn't a kid friendly book. Reigi was probably reading this again.**

Taio wasn't anywhere to be seen, so Itachi did him a favor and returned it to its proper place. He began going through the bookshelves, looking for the book on the daimyo's family history. He was amazed at the variety of books present.

There were books on philosophy, hobbies, mathematics, science, and a nice collection of fiction, which happened to include a healthy number of mystery books. Itachi even recognized a decent number of them having read them himself. Eventually, he found the book.

 **Book about daimyo's history:**

 **This was the book Reigi was reading. Upon further reading, the book details the many heirlooms, including the sword that went missing. It is extremely valuable.**

 **Evidence Gathered: Book**

 **This shows Reigi knew of the value of the heirloom.**

Well, at least his power had saved him from reading through the book and trying to find information about the sword. But he was still annoyed that it was painfully obvious. The book was now in Itachi's inventory, which meant all he had to do know was search Reigi's room.

It was only a few movements away, but Itachi encountered a problem upon trying to go in. The door had been locked. He looked around for anyone and went to bypass the door.

 **You need a key for the door.**

This was beginning to get severely annoying. Lockpicking was among the many skills Itachi had. He could have the door open in no time and even lock it up afterwards. His anger was interrupted by Reigi's sudden appearance.

"Hey, what are you doing outside of my room?" He asked. Of course there was a note of panic in his voice.

"I'm looking for clues and evidence to pin down the thief with." Itachi replied.

"Oh!" He was interested now. "So have you found anything? I mean, you got to have. Aren't you and your buddy really good at this stuff?"

"No." Itachi gave his response in a flat tone. He wasn't revealing his hand, not yet.

 **Deception Successful**

"Well, good luck then. I really hope you catch the guy." It could not have been more obvious that Reigi was just saying it to go through the motions. "And hey, dinner is about ready. They'll be ringing for us any minute now."

On cue, a bell rang throughout the house. Reigi quickly left. Itachi was glad to be rid of his presence. However, he still needed to find a way to get into his room. Perhaps he'd have to ask Taio when he could. In any case, he had a dinner to attend to.

 **A/N: Being Itachi is suffering**


	10. Investigation Allegro

Dinner was a quiet affair. Everyone present had impeccable table manners, even Reigi. Kakashi was absent, and had taken his dinner in his room. Though Itachi got the sneaking suspicion that he didn't want anyone spying on his face while he ate.

It was over with swiftly, and Itachi got back to work. He had no idea where Kakashi had gone, so it was a solo venture until he decided to show up. He checked his inventory and saw that his only two leads were a book and a fork.

Itachi suddenly realized he hadn't investigated the crime scene. That'd help him, at least, he thought it would. A quick check of the minimap and a few arrow presses later, he was at the crime scene. There was nothing worth investigating except for the display case.

 **Display Case:**

 **The door for it is open. Scratch marks around the keyhole point to the lock being picked… poorly**

Itachi was mildly annoyed at this. He poked around a little bit more, and ended up finding something despite the fact it hadn't been visible.

 **Clue Discovered: Metal Thing  
** **It looks like part of a makeshift lock pick. But where's the other part?**

Itachi took this to mean that the "other part" was also hiding somewhere on the ground. He checked every single spot he could and got nothing. He was left with a dead end, and so, returned to what he did have. The fork was next to useless, but he did have the book. He made his way back to the dining room and approached Reigi.

"Oh hey, that food was great. Nothing like what my mom cooked but still great-" He started, but was swiftly cut off by Itachi.

"What can you tell me about this?" He asked, shoving the book into Reigi's hands.

"Oh, this. I was reading this about a week ago. It's pretty interesting. Reminds me of my history teacher back in school, now he could-" He began his inane babbling, and Itachi cut him off again.

"That's all I needed, thank you." He hastily said. A dead end. Whether it was his power or Reigi himself, something was not going to let him press him for more information. He didn't particularly feel like trying to show him the fork either, so he was stuck again.

He turned his attention to the only other person in the room, Taio. Maybe if he asked him about the book he could get somewhere.

"Excuse me, could you look at this?" Itachi asked him, giving him the book.

"Yes, what about it? I told you already, this was the book Reigi had been reading on the day of the crime," he said. "I hope in the future you don't waste any more of my time."

"I'm sorry." Itachi muttered before leaving the dining room in shame. So the book was of no use. He had no idea what to do with the fork, which just left… the crumbs. It was a long shot, but maybe he could get more evidence by talking to Ryori.

Itachi made his way to the kitchen, which was about what he had expected. Clean, organized, and Ryori at the center of it all. She was putting away the last of the dinner dishes when she caught sight of Itachi.

"Oh, you must be Kakashi's partner. He's told me about you," she said. At least Itachi knew what they'd been laughing at earlier. "Now here in my kitchen I only have one rule, which is to never swipe food." Her tone became harsh, harsher than Itachi would've expected.

"I'll bear that in mind," he said, not wanting to displease here, "but I'm just here to ask about the food crumbs. What can you tell me about them?"

"I found them in the drawing room," she said, resuming her usual demeanor.

"That's all I needed, thank you." Itachi took his leave. So someone had been eating in the drawing room, and that food had presumably been stolen. This did not help in the slightest in the theft case. But Itachi was getting an idea. There was a high chance he knew who the food thief was.

He returned to the dining room, only to find that Reigi was missing. Itachi looked at the clock, and it read 9:00. He probably went to sleep. But Itachi was not going to be denied, and furiously tapped his way to his room. He knocked once. No response. He hit the door as hard as he was allowed to for a few seconds. Nothing.

 **No one is inside.**

His power confirmed his suspicions, although a bit late. Reigi was out doing something, Itachi was sure of it. But where was he? He hadn't seen him on his way here or even between the kitchen and the dining room. Thankfully, the mansion was much smaller to Itachi than it should've been, which would make searching a breeze.

He began his search. It wasn't particularly exciting, just some tapping to check the more out of the way places. Again and again he found empty rooms, and Itachi was beginning to suspect that he was missing something. By chance he navigated himself to the drawing room, and he gave Taio a shock.

"What are you doing at this hour?" He asked after his brief recovery.

"I was just looking for Reigi," Itachi answered. "Though the same could be asked of you," he added.

"Don't be preposterous, I always clean the drawing room at this time," he said, indignant of the audacity. "Leave, I have cleaning to do!" Itachi found himself being shooed out of the drawing room.

There was only one place left for Itachi to look, and he had a hunch as to the why. He went to the garden, and sure enough, Reigi was among the fruits and vegetables.

"May I ask what you're doing?" Itachi asked. Reigi looked up from his position.

"I'm making sure the soil is good enough for the plants. What's it look like I'm doing? I'm trying to find something," he replied. Itachi told himself it was almost over.

"What is it?" Itachi asked. Given that he'd gone everywhere he possibly could, this was his last chance at finding a lead.

"I'm looking for one of my rings, yeah. I remember that I dropped it earlier out here but forgot about it until I realized it was missing. I tell you, this ring is really special..." He blathered on. Itachi ignored him as he got a popup.

 **Deception Detected**

 **Deception's level has increased by one.**

Itachi knew he'd have to produce whatever it was that he was looking for to progress, but what was it? He glanced through his inventory: crumbs, a book, a map, and a fork. The only thing that made sense was the fork, so he just showed it to him.

"Is this what you're looking for?" Itachi asked, a smile growing on his face.

"Oh, uhh, no. But hey, weren't we eating dinner with those? Why do you have it?" Reigi tried desperately to shift the blame. Itachi was pleased that there was no popup that stopped him.

"Is that so? Because I found this right out here." Itachi said.

"Well, you got me," he admitted, "but I can explain it!" Itachi merely raised an eyebrow at him. "See, I had stolen some food, and I knew that it was against the rules, so I just brought it out here to eat. But then I dropped the fork and I've been looking for it since!"

"Really now?" Itachi said, excitement building, "because I happen to know that there was some stolen food, and that it was eaten in the drawing room, not the garden."

"You think you can trick me with your lies?" Reigi asked, panic straining his voice. It was painfully obvious that he was grasping at straws. "I don't believe you!"

"You don't have to," Itachi said, "because Ryori was the one who told me about them. I could probably go find Taio to verify the statement." Itachi's displeasure from the game's rules was starting to fade. There was something satisfying about finally catching Reigi.

"Fine, you got me." A victory at last, he had conceded. "But I have to ask smart guy, what does a fork that I was looking for have to do with the theft or anything really. Why would I even have a fork out here?" He asked, regaining his confidence.

And just like that, Itachi's momentum was killed. He sat and thought about it. It was Reigi's turn to smile. Itachi had no other option but to retreat back inside the manor. Upon entering, the clock struck the hour, and it was now 11:00. Searching everywhere had taken much longer than Itachi had anticipated.

The mansion was silent. No one was awake at this point, except for Reigi and Itachi. There was no point in trying to make any more progress today, so he retired to his room. He didn't sleep immediately as he would be fine as long as he had an hour or two.

He went over what he'd learned. Someone had stolen some food, but that wasn't important, Reigi had somehow found the fork, and it ended up in the garden for whatever reason. Someone had picked the lock, pointing to someone without access to the key.

He had part of the lock picking instrument, but what was the other part? Literally everything Itachi had found pointed to Reigi as the culprit, but how was he going to prove it? He needed to find out what else had been used to pick the lock. Whoever stole the food was inconsequential, but what did the fork have to do with anything?

Itachi was on the verge of the cracking this case, but he was missing a piece. He laid in bed and thought about it some more but nothing came to him. Maybe he could just ask Kakashi for advice tomorrow. He had been working a lot longer than he had been, so he probably had some sort of advice for him. Without a reason to be awake, he let himself drift off into sleep.

 **A/N: Just one more chapter until this little thing ends, and then more fluff. And I swear Taio being kind of suspicious wasn't super intentional. The only thing left to say is that Deception is a skill that helps Itachi lie and know when he's being lied to. There was some confusion about that so I thought I'd clarify here too.**


	11. The Thrilling Conclusion (of the arc)

Itachi awoke and immediately sought out Kakashi. As much as he didn't want to ask for help, he had to admit he was stuck, and the sooner he was free of whatever rules he was restricted to, the better. Kakashi was in the library, reading the Icha Icha book.

"Can I ask you a question about the investigation?" Itachi asked.

"Sure, though I have nothing new to report on." Kakashi replied, putting the book down.

"I'm stuck," Itachi admitted, "I feel like I have everything but I'm still missing something. Do you have any suggestions?"

"Well, have you looked at what you do have?" Kakashi asked. "A shinobi has to see underneath the underneath." Itachi thought for a moment and realized he'd been acting stupid, really stupid.

"Thank you, I should solve this case soon." Itachi said, bowing before his wisdom. Kakashi dismissed him with a wave, and Itachi returned to his room. He pulled up his inventory and poked the book. A pictorial representation of it flooded Itachi's vision accompanied by a short description.

 **Book:**

 **This proves that Reigi knew the value of the sword.**

He checked the item and sure enough, there was another button underneath it: **Examine.** He could've probably had this case wrapped up yesterday if he'd bothered to check instead of glancing at the icon. He doubted the book would give him anything, so he pulled up the only thing that was a mystery.

 **Fork:**

 **It's a fancy fork. Found in the garden. Relation to the crime unknown.**

Itachi hit the **Examine** button and felt his vision shift as his Sharingan activated automatically. The fork was now in his hands, and he set to examining every part of it. All the tiny scratches were visible under his super powered eyes. The handle of it revealed nothing new, so he moved up to the tines.

He looked up and down the length of each tine. The first, second, and third tines were normal. But when he got to the last one, he noticed something was off. It had a lighter colour at the base of it. He checked it against the other tines to confirm. Itachi recognized the lighter colour as a stress mark.

 **Item Updated!**

 **The base of one of the tines has a stress mark on it.**

Itachi broke out into a grin. This was all he needed. He could wrap up the case now, and be done with this nonsense. He rushed downstairs to gather everyone for the reveal. He found everyone with one exception, the daimyo.

"I'm afraid his lordship is tied up until this afternoon," Taio had explained to him. Itachi left to wait in his room. It was only the fact that all that was between him and normalcy was a few hours that he kept himself at ease. Well, that, and his ability to meditate away a good portion of it quickly.

He returned to the dining room, conveniently interrupting lunch.

"I've cracked the case!" He announced to everyone. He was excited to reveal his findings to everyone, especially Reigi.

"Very impressive," the daimyo said. "So who stole my precious heirloom?" Each of the occupants of the room faintly glowed, indicating Itachi should tap one.

 **Reveal the Thief!**

"It was Reigi!" He declared. Whatever forces had given him this power had a sense of humour, as he was forced to point at Reigi to tap him as he said it aloud.

"Woah… Woah, buddy. Look here," Reigi said with indignance. He was going to fight it, but Itachi was prepared. "I've been a friend of the daimyo for years. Now why would I go steal something from him after he's treated me with such kindness. That's just rude."

 **Show the Motive!**

Itachi's inventory automatically popped up for him to select an item. He'd known it for a while, so it was an easy choice.

"Simple," Itachi said, "here in my hands is a book detailing the daimyo's family history." He ignored the angry glance from Taio for removing the book from the library.

"So what?" Reigi asked. "If someone reads a history book on Konoha does that mean they're going to steal one of the priceless artifacts?" Itachi ignored the fact the hypothetical didn't apply to Konoha.

"It's what's in the book that counts," Itachi countered. He found the right section and read it aloud, "Among the daimyo family heirlooms is the family sword, which has seen many a bloody battle. Its historical presence makes the sword extremely valuable to collectors…"

"Ah yes," the daimyo chimed in, "You are not the first to steal the sword. It's changed hands many times, but it always returns to its rightful place in the manor."

"Thank you, lord, for supplying this information," Itachi said. The daimyo gave a small motion in acknowledgement. "And thanks to Taio, I know you were reading this book on the day of the crime," Itachi added.

 **Success!**

"I read the book, I'll admit that. But that doesn't make me a thief! When would I even steal it anyways?" Reigi was starting to backpedal, falling upon an obvious question to avoid the damning one.

 **Show the Opportunity!**

"This is another simple task," Itachi said. "Everyone else's alibi checks out, leaving you the only one who could have done it."

"I don't believe any of that. How did you even prove everyone else's alibis?" Reigi countered.

"The daimyo can confirm Sato's presence at his side for the greater part of the day," Itachi said before launching into a series of rhetorical questions. "Dinner was served on time, wasn't it? The mansion was spotless that night, wasn't it?-"

"Hold on a moment, buddy," Reigi cut him off, "The mansion wasn't spotless. There were crumbs in the drawing room!" His face grew a triumphant grin. Itachi hid his own smile for now.

"Ah, I forgot," Itachi said, making a gesture of mock forgetfulness, "Taio was preoccupied with something. Namely, a food theft gone awry." Taio started sputtering.

"Now hold on a moment," he interjected, "I always hold myself to the rules like someone in his lordship's service should. Why would I pilfer the kitchen?"

"I've got no clue," Itachi admitted, "but all the evidence points to someone eating stolen food in the drawing room. And it was you I caught in there searching for something last night!" He'd gotten caught up in the theatrics and pointed menacingly at Taio.

"That's preposterous!" He yelled. "You have no proof of that!"

"Oh but I do," Itachi was enjoying himself far more than he should have, "I have it right here." He pulled out the fork that had been baffling him. Taio's mouth fell open momentarily before he regained his composure.

"I suppose it was was inevitable," he mused. "Indeed, I was eating a quick snack when I spilled some crumbs. The plate had been set out with food, and I'm afraid I shamefully couldn't help myself." He looked at Ryori, "I apologize for my selfish actions." She didn't say anything, but she didn't have to.

"Well the gardener still could have done it!" Reigi spoke up now that one mystery had been solved. "Yeah, he was tired of working for the daimyo, and stole the sword to escape this life." He looked fairly pleased with his answer.

"I love my job, sir," Tanaka took it upon himself to disprove Reigi. "Here I don't have to worry about food or any expenses and I can pursue my hobby, gardening."

"Indeed," Itachi added, "yesterday when I went out to the garden right after dinner, he was hard at work. He even apologized when he wasn't done. Now will you let me finish, or are you going to suggest that the daimyo stole his own sword?" He ignored the fact that this didn't technically prove Tanaka's alibi and instead relished in Reigi's squirming.

 **Success!**

"Okay, so no one knows what I was doing at the time," he conceded, "but that doesn't mean anything! You don't even know how the sword got out of the case, do you? Tell me, smart guy, how would I have even done it?" He went on another tirade and ended with a smug smile.

 **Show the Means!**

"If you insist, and stop me if I'm wrong," Itachi said before launching into his explanation. "You learned of the swords value by chance. By your own admittance, you've been a family friend for years, which would give you knowledge of the schedules of the various work-"

"Now you're just making stuff up!" Reigi broke in. "You just want me to be guilty, dontcha?"

"I'm afraid Itachi's right," the daimyo chimed in, "even someone like you would pick up on patterns." The room fell silent. One did not disagree with the daimyo.

"As I was saying," Itachi continued, "all you needed to do was pick the lock. I'll admit I didn't know how you did until this morning. One part I found on the ground," he pulled out the small piece he'd found by the case, "which presumably was taken off of something, and the other, is this," he pulled out the fork for everyone to see. Reigi started laughing.

"A fork as a lock pick," he said in a reprieve from the laughing, "that's a new one, and the silliest thing I've ever heard." He doubled over laughing.

"You would be right," Itachi said, unphased by Reigi's laughter, "except for the fact that one of these tines has stress marks on it, indicating that someone bent it out of place, and then bent it back. The marks were only on a single tine, which tells me it was very intentional."

"This just gets better," Reigi said amidst a fresh wave of laughter, "I don't even believe it can be done. This is just a waste of time."

"Taio," the daimyo said, "would you get the case. I want to see if Reigi is right." Taio bowed and left, returning with the case a few minutes later. Itachi bent the tine back and pulled out the other part of the lockpick. Within seconds he had the case open.

"So an elite ninja can open it with a fork," Reigi said, "doesn't mean that I could do it. Heck, I can barely pick a lock with proper tools."

"Thank you for bringing that up," Itachi said, no longer being able to hide his smile, "if you look around the lock, you'll see that whoever did this did it poorly, which you just so kindly explained to us that's how you pick locks."

"I-I…" Reigi stuttered. Itachi resumed his explanation before he could get much else out.

"Now then, without any further distractions," he gave Reigi a look, "You had an idea to pick the lock, all you needed were the items. You were on the way to the kitchen when luck smiled upon you. There was an unattended fork in the drawing room. You committed the deed, and stowed the sword in your room."

"I was going half mad trying to find that fork," Taio broke in, "I had kept the room dark for fear of being caught. I thought I'd left the fork on one of the books, but when I left for something to clean up the evidence and came back, it was gone. I returned every night, looking for that fork."

"Another piece of the puzzle solved," Itachi commented. "Upon arriving in your room, you found that you'd lost the small metal piece, but you still had the fork. You disposed of it, eventually settling on the garden, only to realize your own folly and go to reclaim it later that night, only for it to have been picked up by me." he finished with a small flourish, alive with the knowledge he'd finally proved it was Reigi.

 **Success!**

"We must confirm this at once!" The daimyo didn't hesitate after Itachi had finished, "Taio, unlock Reigi's room for us."

"No, you can't do this to me!" Reigi butted in, "I'm innocent, I tell you. Just leave me alone!" He was begging now.

"Typical," Kakashi commented, finally breaking his silence. He kept a careful eye on him as the daimyo personally went to check for the sword. He returned with it, and Kakashi detained Reigi, who'd fallen silent. Itachi silently dismissed the quest completion text.

"Thank you for solving the mystery," the daimyo said, addressing Itachi. "In light of this success, I think you deserve something for your work." He offered Itachi the fork. "And it only seems appropriate that you get the piece that let you solve it."

"Thank you, my lord," Itachi said as he bowed and took the fork. It wasn't much but he'd take it. One didn't reject gifts from the daimyo. They bid their farewells and started the journey home.

It was a quiet trip home. Itachi hated the fact that he could've had this case done a lot sooner, but on the other hand he was fairly certain of the reason for Kakashi's silence. He did have a lengthy report to file when they returned.

 **A/N: Oops, just about put up the wrong chapter. I didn't realize this was quite this far behind... Guess I'll push up the next chapter.**


	12. At Peace (End of Part I)

It was dark by the time Itachi and Kakashi had made it back to the village. Kakashi had left without a word, off to file the paperwork, leaving Itachi free to return home. He'd been gone for 5 days, but add that to his previous mission, and he realized Sasuke had not seen him in a little over a week.

Poor Sasuke. This was the longest he'd been without seeing Itachi for even a few minutes. He decided against all distractions and walked at brisk pace towards his home. He missed being home, mainly because of Sasuke.

"Nii-San!" Sasuke yelled. Itachi braced himself as Sasuke about knocked him over. He smiled and picked him up, resting him on his hip. "You're home! You're home!" Sasuke squeezed Itachi tightly.

"See, I told you he'd be home soon," Mikoto said. "He's been waiting for you every night. I've had to put him in his bed after he's fallen asleep," she continued, addressing Itachi, "and there's some leftovers in the pot if you want something to eat."

"Thank you," Itachi said, carrying Sasuke towards the kitchen. "Where's my father?" He asked.

"Oh he's working late again today," Mikoto explained, "same as he has been all week. It's getting harder to police the village." Itachi knew the reason and nodded to show he understood. The door flew open.

"I heard you were back, Itachi. A little bird told me." It was Izumi, who spoke in a bit of a sing-songy voice. If Itachi had to guess, the "little bird" was Shisui, although he had no idea how he managed to find out so quickly.

"Izumi, what a pleasant surprise," Mikoto said.

 **Deception Failed**

Shisui must have planned this. Itachi couldn't decide if he was his favorite person, aside from Sasuke, or his least favorite person. But there wasn't much he could do, she was here. The only thing that concerned him was the suspicious lack of a giant wall of text.

It didn't matter though, as the last real meal Itachi had was at the daimyo's mansion. He didn't need to eat, but he still found himself enjoying the taste a lot more than field rations. Izumi helped herself to some as well. Sasuke didn't say much, he just waited patiently for Itachi to finish.

"Alright, Sasuke," Mikoto said, "I said you could stay up until Itachi was home. You need to get your sleep so you can do well in the academy tomorrow."

"It's not fair!" was the immediate response. "How come Izumi gets to stay up with Itachi and I don't?" Mikoto began her response before Itachi signalled to her that he'd get it.

"Sasuke," Itachi stooped down to look eye-to-eye with him, "how about this? I'll read you a bedtime story and I'll make sure Izumi goes home a few minutes later." Sasuke's pout immediately became a smile.

"Thanks, Nii-san!" he said, embracing him again. Itachi returned the hug and picked him up, carrying him to his room.

"Itachi, can I listen too?" Izumi asked, following.

"I don't see why not," Itachi replied. He didn't think Izumi would take no for an answer.

"Yay!" she yelled. It was kind of cute to see her as excited as Sasuke was for something as small as a bedtime story. Itachi put Sasuke into his bed and he eagerly clambered under the covers. Izumi flopped down at the foot of the bed.

"Alright, Sasuke, what kind of story do you want to hear tonight?" Itachi asked.

"Tell me about one of your missions, Nii-san," he said. Itachi was happy to oblige. Almost instantly he got an idea, and it didn't involve killing people, which was for the best.

"So this story is called, Mystery in the Manor," he said. Izumi ooh-ed at it, but Itachi ignored her. "It was a night like tonight, with a clear sky and bright moon. The daimyo had just finished getting his check up when his servant burst into the room.

"Your Lordship!" he cried, "Your sword, it's been, stolen!"

"What, who'd be dumb enough to steal from the daimyo?" Izumi interjected. Sasuke shot her a dirty glance for interrupting the story. Itachi saw an opportunity, however.

"That's a good question. Sasuke, I want you to pay attention to the story, and if you figure out who it is I want you to tell me," he said. "But don't give it away," he added, looking directly at Izumi.

"Okay, Nii-san!" Sasuke said. He'd never had an interactive story before. Itachi continued.

"Konoha got the report and within a few days, my partner and I had arrived. We met the daimyo and learned there were 5 suspects: the servant, the cook, the doctor, the gardener, and a family friend. I took statements from all of them.

The doctor was with the daimyo at the time, so she couldn't have done it. The cook had been preparing dinner, so she was also good. But, the servant, the friend, and the gardener didn't have stories I could immediately prove. It was time to investigate.

The first thing I had to do was check the crime scene. The lock of the display case had been picked." Itachi took a break from the story.

"Sasuke, do you know how to pick locks?" he asked. Izumi stifled a giggle from the foot of the bed.

"Not really Nii-san. Otou-san says not until I'm older," Sasuke seemed a bit ashamed to admit this.

"The important thing is that you need two bits of metal. A thick one like the tine of a fork, and a small one, smaller than a fork tine."

"Now that you've told your brother an intro for committing crimes, can you get back to the story?" Izumi complained. She got another dirty look from Sasuke. Itachi gave a small laugh before resuming.

"I noticed the sun glinting off a small piece of metal on the ground. Looks like the thief had been careless. I pocketed the evidence and moved on with the investigation. I was passing through the drawing room and I saw the servant searching the bookcases for something.

"What are you looking for?" I asked him.

"I seem to have misplaced a book. I was just looking for it," he told me. But something about it didn't seem right to me.

"Don't lie to me," I said. He started to panic as he should have. I'd let my Sharingan activate."

"Woah, harsh, Itachi," Izumi commented half-jokingly.

"Of course he was scared," Sasuke said, adding in his own commentary, "Nii-san can do anything." Izumi gave him a look of doubt.

"Alright you two," Itachi intervened, "I'm getting back to the story.

"You got me, I was looking for my fork I'd left here," he admitted to me. I let my sharingan fade.

"Was that so hard?" I asked him. He shook his head. "I'll be on the lookout for it. I can't help you if you don't help me." He bowed to me as I walked away. I went out to question the gardener some more. I ended up bumping into the friend on my way out.

"Watch where you're going buddy!" He yelled, "I'm walking here." I didn't care though. I just went about my business. In the garden, I was about to knock on the door of the shack when I caught a glimpse of metal amongst the earth.

It was a fork, and one of the tines had been bent backwards." Itachi once again stopped the story.

"Do you have any ideas yet, Sasuke?" he asked. Izumi looked like she was going to explode if Sasuke didn't answer it.

"Hmmm…" Sasuke thought aloud, "I don't Nii-san, sorry."

 **Deception Failed**

Itachi dismissed the message. Sasuke had his reasons. Even Izumi realized that he'd been lying but said nothing. Itachi continued his story.

"I'd just found another clue. The fork and the metal I'd found were used to pick the lock, I had no doubt. And if I wasn't mistaken, then I'd just seen the thief. I left towards his room. Upon getting there, I found the door to be locked.

But it was no match for my training, and soon the door was open. I did a quick check of the room. Hiding under the bed was the sword. I'd found my man. I took it with me and presented it to the daimyo. He thanked me. I went and found the culprit.

"What do you mean I'm guilty, buddy? I've been friends with the daimyo for years, why would I steal from him?" he asked me. I ignored him.

"I guess the sword in your room was nothing then?" I asked him. He sputtered a bit but then I just used my sharingan to confirm. He was arrested, and the daimyo gave me a parting gift.

The end," Itachi finished. Izumi wasn't overly thrilled at the abrupt ending, but Sasuke was enraptured by it.

 **Storytelling's level has increased by one**

"Wow, Nii-san, you solved it fast!" He said in wonder, "and you got something from the daimyo!"

"Indeed I did, Sasuke," Itachi told him, "and I have it right here." He pulled out the fork. Izumi stifled more laughter and Sasuke seemed less than pleased.

"He gave you a fork?" He said, "that's lame." Itachi laughed at him.

"Sometimes Sasuke, things don't have to be amazing to be a good gift. I'll always be able to remember my missions from this fork," he explained. Sasuke's face lightened up. "Good night, Sasuke, I'm walking Izumi home."

"Good night, Nii-san," Sasuke said. Itachi and Izumi left as Sasuke adjusted underneath the covers.

"Thank you, Itachi," Mikoto said as soon as the door was shut, "I don't know what I'd do without you sometimes." Itachi gave a motion of thankfulness before he and Izumi left.

"Man, Itachi, your life has gotten so busy with you going to ANBU," she mused as they walked. The sudden appearance of a massive screen waiting for text put Itachi at ease.

 **The young lovers take a stroll towards one of their homes. Izumi, however, fears that Itachi is going to grow distant with his new occupation. She's already finding herself worried that he already has. Itachi reaches out to comfort her.**

"Izumi, I won't be busy all the time, just a lot of it. I've got a lot to worry about."

 **His word choice was intended to comfort his love, but instead, it forces more weight onto her burdened heart. She's worried that "a lot of the time" means all of it. She pleas with him, trying to make him feel her pain.**

"Itachi, I like you. I don't want to be without you. I don't know if I can handle you being gone for weeks at a time. What if something happens to you?"

 **The tears of her heart flow freely. Itachi takes swift action. He grabs onto her, holds her. He whispers gently into her ear words of comfort. He knows he can't fully relieve her, but he does what he can.**

"Izumi, nothing will happen to me. I'll have my partner with me, and he's incredibly strong, I can feel it. And this past week was a coincidence more than anything. I got assigned to two longish missions in a row. It'll happen again, but I don't think it'll be that often. And I'll always make time for you like I make time for Sasuke."

 **She looks up at him, eyes full of wonder. She embraces him harder, burying her face into him, holding on dearly to this moment right now. The tears are still flowing, but now they flow for a different reason. She stands on her tiptoes and whispers two simple words to him.**

"Thank you."

 **She calms down, and the two make their way to her house. Itachi treasures this quiet walk with her, just as he treasures his time with Sasuke. He looks up at the stars and moon and activates his sharingan. He wants to keep this memory forever, no matter what happens in the future...**

 **A/N: And thusly ends part one of the fic. Only 2 chapters until the real plot kicks in, I promise**


	13. Promotion

_Two Years Later._

It was all so familiar to Itachi. The formality, the endless stream of Uchiha, and the overwhelming discussion of his accomplishment. This time, however, he'd been made a captain. It didn't have an official ceremony like his ANBU induction, but upon hearing his accomplishment, his Fugaku had insisted on a repeat of the celebration.

That was another thing that was different. Fugaku was not here. He was not perched behind Itachi's back, hands clamped on his shoulders, showing him off to everyone. No, today, he was down at the station, along with a few of the rookie officers trying to sort through the current mess.

Given the choice, Itachi would have rather been with Izumi, or Shisui, or even out in the field with his father. Just as he had two years ago, he despised the overbearing aura of the celebration, if it even qualified.

Yet Itachi couldn't blame the Uchiha looking for something to celebrate. They really hadn't had anything to celebrate in the past few years. Itachi had heard whispers in his brief periods of time back in the village.

There'd been a few incidences between the Uchiha and civilians. Nothing violent, and always resolved peacefully. Still, even now, he could spot a few groups of Uchiha murmuring to each other..He thought back to what Hiruzen had told him when he'd visited him with Shisui.

" _I do not want you to be burdened with this, to be split between duty to your village and your family… but your insistence on it leaves me with the impression that you'll do it with or without my permission. I hope that you and Shisui will be able to find an answer."_

Itachi sighed. He excused himself to the restroom. Once free from the oppressive atmosphere, Itachi splashed his face with water and looked at himself in the mirror.

 **The Gamer**

 **Itachi Uchiha LVL 29**

These past two years had been good to his level. He even had about 130 of his points left over. He hadn't had any real reason for them. Kakashi was excellent backup, and a lot of his training in his early shinobi career had left him sitting comfortably above most opponents.

Of course there'd been some troubling spots, like when they helped recruit a rather unique addition to ANBU. That had been a quite a day, and both he and Kakashi were glad that the Hokage had chosen to file the report for it personally.

Refreshed, Itachi returned to the party. Things returned to their dull rhythm as he waited it out. Eventually, the last of the guests left. Fugaku hadn't returned. It was assumed that if he wasn't home at a certain time, he was sleeping at the office. Itachi decided not to think about it too much, and headed off to bed himself.

Itachi woke a bit later than he normally would. It was a free day for him. He stretched out, and walked into Sasuke's room. He sat down on the bed and gently shook Sasuke.

"What is it, Oka-san? There's no school today," he said sleepily. He rolled over to face away from the door.

"Sasuke, I have the day off and my morning is free. I thought I'd take you out training." Itachi said, smiling down at his brother.

"Nii-san!" Sasuke shouted, throwing the covers off of him. "Do you really mean it this time?"

"Of course, Sasuke," Itachi told him. "Now let's go eat some breakfast." Sasuke threw his training clothes on and joined Itachi in the kitchen. He followed Itachi's movements as he ate, and soon they left the house.

"This is great!" Sasuke proclaimed. "Otou-san is always too busy… But he's not as good as you." He looked up at Itachi. "What's wrong, Nii-san?"

"Oh, sorry," Itachi said, pulling himself out of his thoughts, "I was just thinking about Otou-san. He's been working a lot."

"It stinks…" Sasuke commented, "he's never home, and when he is, he's too tired to do anything. But that doesn't matter today because you're here, Nii-san." Itachi met his brother's and smiled.

"That's right, Sasuke. I can't wait to see how much you've improved." He said. Sasuke began charging towards the grounds, and Itachi followed at a similar pace.

"Ha, beat you!" Sasuke declared as Itachi walked up.

"You did. Looks like you're training has paid off," Itachi said.

"It has. Did you know that I'm the top ranked student at the academy?" Sasuke asked, the pride unmistakable in his voice.

"That's impressive, Sasuke. What did Otou-san think?" It had been an innocent question, and yet Itachi immediately could tell that it had been a mistake. Sasuke looked down at the ground.

"He just told me good job…" He said. Itachi frowned. He kneeled down next to him.

"Let's forget about this, Sasuke," he said. "Instead, why don't you show me your kunai skills?" He held some up for Sasuke, who took them eagerly.

"Look, Nii-san! I learned your trick while you were away!" He shouted. He leaped up in a graceful arc. Two kunai left his hands nigh simultaneously. There was a sharp clank of metal on metal. Sasuke landed. "Go look!" He urged.

"Alright, I will." Itachi said. He walked around the boulder and there, right in the dead center of the target, was one of the thrown kunai. "You've been keeping up on your training," he shouted to Sasuke.

"Of course! I want to be as good as you, so I've come here every day after school," he said proudly.

"Alright then, Sasuke, let's see what else you've been practicing…"

Several hours went by as Sasuke showed Itachi all the things he'd been training. Itachi stood with him, absorbing every moment with him, even activating the Sharingan to record when Sasuke wasn't looking. But they weren't meant to spend the day alone, and someone else joined them.

"Hey, what's this, Itachi?" Shisui asked, making a sudden appearance. "I thought you only trained with me."

"Sorry, Shisui," he replied, "but Sasuke has priority. He is my brother after all." Itachi could feel Sasuke glow with affection.

"Come on, I've got a mission soon and I wanted to train with you too," Shisui whined. Sasuke laughed. "I'll even make it interesting: Winner gets all they can eat dango for a day."

"Ha!" Sasuke butted in, "there's no way Nii-san would lose to you, right, Nii-san?" He looked up at his brother with eyes that told Itachi he fully believed what he said. Shisui laughed at the display.

"Don't worry, Sasuke, I won't be losing today." Itachi said. It was the truth. He'd been holding onto something for a while now, waiting for the perfect opportunity to guarantee his victory. The time was now.

"Is that so, Itachi?" Shisui asked. He rubbed his chin, contemplating the source of Itachi's confidence. "Let's see what you've got." The trio headed off towards the usual spot.

 **Training Start!**

Itachi and Shisui took their places opposite of each other. They stared each other down. A sudden whirl of crimson in both of their eyes, and the fight had begun. Sasuke watched from the sidelines, trying desperately to keep up with the furious exchange of blows, but to no avail.

As suddenly as it had started, they stopped. Itachi didn't even dare sneak a glance at Sasuke while they circled in the arena. They froze in their place and gazed intensely into each other's eyes. Sasuke recognized it as genjutsu. He couldn't help but worry as they stood there.

Shisui was relentless compared to other battles. Itachi thought it was because of the dango prize and Sasuke's outburst. Shisui currently held the advantage, as he had more stamina than Itachi, who was wearing out. But his hope was not lost, he still had his secret weapon.

"Soon, Itachi, you will know defeat!" Shisui shouted. Even now he liked his dramatics. "Are you ready for my secret technique?"

"I'm afraid you lost this battle as soon as you stepped into the ring," Itachi retorted. He couldn't help but get swept up in Shisui's… Shisui-ness.

"Well then, take this!" Shisui yelled. He threw a few smoke bombs on the ground. Itachi tensed up. It was coming. He pulled out his secret weapon. The smoke began clearing and Itachi was taken aback.

He'd taken the shape of Izumi in a one piece bathing suit. This was a bit of a low blow, yet Itachi did not waver.

"You thought you could take me off guard with that?" He asked. "Well, you thought wrong. Now face my ultimate weapon, something I've been saving. Fork of the Daimyo!" With a precision hone through many years of training, Itachi flung the fork handle first at Shisui's form.

"Owwwww!" Izumi cried as the fork hit her. Itachi's eyes widened. Something was very wrong here. The smoke finished clearing away, revealing Shisui standing at the far end of the arena. He was in hysterics. "Why did you do that, Itachi?"

"Izumi, I'm so sorry," Itachi hastily bowed, "forgive me but I thought you were Shisui."

"Relax Itachi, I was only joking. And I was in on it," she said. "It was totally worth it to see you shout out 'Fork of the Daimyo." Itachi hid his face. He'd fallen for such a simple trick.

"Oh man," Shisui said in a pause of his laughter, "I knew this would be great, but never did I think you'd pull out that old fork as a weapon." Unfortunately for him, he was too busy laughing to notice Sasuke walk up to him.

"Nii-san wins," Sasuke declared as he pushed Shisui out of the ring.

"Hey what gives, Itachi was supposed to be the one to push me out," Shisui said, snapped out of his laughter by the sudden loss.

"You brought Izumi to the fight, so Nii-san gets to bring me," Sasuke countered. It was Itachi's turn to laugh as Shisui tried to find a hole in the reasoning.

"This isn't funny anymore," he whined. Contrary to what he thought, everyone else was laughing at him. "Oh well, it was a good fight," he continued after getting back to his feet. "I'd treat you tonight, Itachi, but I really have spent too much time here. Farewell."

The other three gave their goodbye before he was gone. The trio began meandering back towards the Uchiha compound. They spent the entire way back talking about the spar. When they reached where they had to part ways, Izumi sidled up to Itachi.

"Itachi," she said, "if you have the time, I've missed you. Do you think we could go do something after I get changed into something more decent?" Itachi looked at her before he used two fingers to poke her forehead.

"Sorry, Izumi, maybe next time," he said. Izumi rubbed her forehead.

"But why?" she demanded.

"I've got a quick mission I need to do," Itachi explained. She was about to raise further protest when he leaned in close. "But I do have tomorrow morning off. I'll take you to do whatever you want then."

"Alright then, bye!" Izumi shouted before making her hasty departure.

"You must really like her, Nii-san," Sasuke commented.

"No, it's not like that," Itachi said, desperately trying to deny it.

 **Deception Failed**

"But you poked her forehead. You only ever do that with me," Sasuke explained. Itachi had to admit, his observing skills were impressive.

"Of course I do it with you Sasuke," Itachi said, taking a knee to get closer to him. "I love you, and I don't know what I'd do if something ever happened to you. Now let's go, I'll give you a piggyback ride home."

Sasuke leaped up onto Itachi's back. He took it nice and slow, so they'd make it home just as lunch was ready. Sasuke gripped tightly onto Itachi.

"Wait, Nii-san," he said out of nowhere.

"What is it, Sasuke?" Itachi asked.

"If you poke my forehead and you love me and you poked Izumi's forehead, does that mean you love her too?" He asked. Itachi stopped walking for a moment.

"Yeah," Itachi admitted to himself, "I guess so…" He continued on his way back to his house, with Sasuke resting his head on his shoulder.

 **A/N: I lost track of time and forgot to update. Oops :/**


	14. Shisui's Gift

Itachi was furiously at work tapping his way through another "game" for Izumi. She'd insisted upon it since he'd stood her up yesterday. It didn't bother him though as he had been waiting to get that perfect round. He would not be denied again. He would succeed! He would-

A kettle whistling snapped Itachi out of it. He jumped.

 **Combo Lost!**

He sighed as he paused. After that time he'd forgotten the tea, he'd always made it a point to get the water boiling before he started on the game. He had to admit it was a bit embarrassing that this is what had stopped him this time. He wasn't one to get so involved in his task.

Itachi took the kettle off the stove and started to steep the tea. He'd come back to the game in a few minutes. He didn't feel like playing anymore. Several minutes passed. Itachi knew the perfect timing to get the right flavor for Izumi. She loved to have a really strong, bitter tea.

 **Cooking's level has increased by one**

Right on time. Itachi took a deep breath and assumed a perfect posture. He placed a single cup of tea on a platter and began taking measured paces. Izumi was waiting for him at their usual table. She was slightly hunched forward and was swinging her legs back and forth.

"You don't have to be so formal, Itachi," she said. She was trying to not laugh at what Itachi assumed to be a ridiculous sight.

"I apologize, I just thought this would help make up for throwing a fork at you." Itachi explained to her. Several of the other patrons shot him confused looks. He hoped they didn't go looking for answers.

"Don't be silly. Just this is enough." Izumi said. "Although you trying to make it up is pretty cute." There were more glances from the people around him. Itachi blushed and was glad no one but him would come for dango twice in one day.

"Here is your tea, I will be back shortly," He said quickly, nearly spilling the tea as he set it down. He heard Izumi laugh as he took long strides back to the kitchen. He took another deep breath and hit **Resume.** He was glad to be playing again; it took his mind off of the embarrassment.

It was a lot more pleasant to play without the pressure of perfection. Itachi rather enjoyed the last song and a half he had to play through. Maybe Izumi would still be hungry afterwards. He made sure to walk out towards her as casually as possible. Unfortunately most of the customers from earlier were still there.

"Hey, what happened to making it up to me?" Izumi asked as Itachi slunk into his chair. He just looked at her. "I'm kidding, come on, you know me," she added, swiping some dango off the plate. "And between you and me," she continued, leaning in close to Itachi, "you make the best dango, even better than some of the more expensive stuff I've had."

Itachi lightened up at the comment. There was a sense of satisfaction that came with the knowledge. He took some dango and enjoyed the fruits of his labour. Both he and Izumi tried to finish quickly so they could escape the patrons who still were looking at them, wondering if anything else was going to happen between them.

They bade each other farewell s at Izumi's house. She'd given Itachi a hug, which put embarrassment at the forefront of his mind. Thankfully, there were no prying eyes in the Uchiha compound. Though that wasn't enough to dissuade Itachi from making a quick departure. He had quite some time before his meeting with Shisui, and a bit of paperwork to do. He'd put it off long enough already.

Itachi began walking towards Hokage tower to get his paperwork done but stopped at the gate to the compound. There was another civilian acting out on his frustration with Uchiha.

"You damn bastards! I didn't want your help!" He was screaming and on the verge of hysterics. He flung a rock at the wall, which bounced off harmlessly and joined the others strewn about at the base of the wall.

"Excuse me, sir, if you have a complaint it would be more effective to file a complaint with the hokage," Itachi told him. The man turned to him, rock in hand.

"You're just like the rest of them, so full of yourself..." He was shaking. He wanted nothing more to fling the rock at Itachi's face.

"I could hear your problem and report it directly. I was headed in that direction anyways," Itachi offered. This only seemed to increase the man's anger.

"Of course you think you can just fix it for me!" He screamed. It was what pushed him over the edge. The rock flew from his hand and Itachi just caught it. The man was breathing heavily, like flinging the rock had taken an enormous amount of effort.

"Sir, if you want me to, I can take your problem directly to the head of the police. He is my father." Itachi wasn't going to give up on him just yet. The man's attitude adjusted rapidly.

"Oh, I'm sorry about that outburst then," he apologized. Even without his power, Itachi could feel the man's fear. "This is just the third time they haven't done anything about the thief plaguing my business."

"Alright, thank you for your cooperation," Itachi said, "I will personally inform him this evening. He is a busy man but I'm sure I could get him to prioritize this."

The man thanked him and ran away. Itachi wondered if he'd actually told the police about the thief. It seemed like more and more crime was being committed without being reported. Many didn't want anything to do with the Uchiha. He hadn't been the first to try and vandalize Uchiha property. Itachi continued on his way.

It was about an hour after sundown when Itachi went out to meet Shisui. Meeting earlier would've been better but it came with being a shinobi. He didn't particularly mind though. It was one of those rare times when both he and Shisui had a moment to spare to talk without mentioning anything about missions or current issues in Konoha.

An hour passed. Itachi just chalked it up to Shisui's mission taking longer than he anticipated. The owner came out with some tea and expressed his hope that Shisui would be there soon. Itachi thanked him and gratefully accepted the tea.

Yet another hour passed.

"Hey, Itachi, walk with me," Shisui said as he approached. Itachi's questions about his tardiness stopped in his throat as he saw that he was bleeding heavily from one of his eyes.

"What happened?" That was the important part. That's what Itachi wanted to know.

"I'll explain on the way. Come on." Shisui urged. There was something that was bothering Itachi. Shisui didn't seem concerned in the slightest about his injury. He used his **Observe** skill.

 **Shisui Uchiha:  
** **Your best friend. He's injured but is unperturbed by it.  
** **Feeling: calm, at peace, prepared**

His state of mind did not put Itachi any more at ease. He followed him as he began walking.

"Will you tell me what happened? Why are you bleeding? Who did this?" Itachi asked. He tried his best to hide his apprehension. It wasn't like Shisui to be like this.

"I had a plan for averting the coup that the Uchiha elders were planning," he explained. Itachi let out a sigh of relief. Shisui's injury had probably been from whatever he'd done.

"So were you successful?" He asked.

"No, I'm afraid not. There were some complications," Shisui answered without hesitation.

"Well then tell me what happened!" Itachi yelled. He wanted to know who had stopped Shisui. He wanted to know who had hurt him.

"I ran into Danzo. He stole my right eye. Apparently he didn't trust me," he replied. Itachi looked at him. He no longer had his usual mask on. There was only fury. Danzo was not- he took a deep breath. His anger faded. Shisui was his main concern right now.

"Shisui…" He said. Itachi didn't know what to tell him. What he should say. He walked in silence besides Shisui. He just wanted him there beside him.

"Itachi, I have a mission for you. Keep the Uchiha's name honorable, protect the clan. Can I trust you with this?" Shisui asked. They'd stopped walking. Itachi didn't like where they were.

 **Quest Alert: Honor  
** **Shisui has asked you to protect the clan and keep the Uchiha name as one of prestige**

 **Completion Award: 1,000,000 XP  
** **Legend title for your work**

 **Completion Failure:  
** **?  
** **?  
** **?**

"I accept," Itachi said.

"Thank you. The Uchiha are walking a narrow path right now. It won't be easy and I don't even know if it's possible. But I know that you'll do your best. I'm going to give you this to keep it out of Danzo's hands," Shisui said. He pulled out his remaining eye and offered it to him. "You're the only one I can trust with this. And one last thing."

 **Item Obtained: Shisui's Left Eye  
** **An eye that bestows you with a powerful genjutsu. You meet the requirements to equip this item.**

"What is it, Shisui?" Itachi asked as he stored the eye in his inventory. He felt his heartbeat increase. He didn't like where Shisui was standing.

"Make sure you take extra good care of Sasuke and Izumi," he replied. It was almost as if things were normal. He even smiled. Shisui fell backwards. Itachi realized what was happening a moment too late. Sharingan activated on instinct, he reached out for Shisui as he vanished off the top of the cliff.

Itachi's knees dug painfully into the rocks as he watched Shisui plunge to his death. There was an ungodly sound as he hit the rocks just below the water's surface. He floated away on his back, his last smile permanently etched onto his face.

"Shisui…" Itachi said. His mind supplied him with dozens of other solutions to Shisui's situation. It shouldn't have ended like this. With an effort, he silenced his thoughts. He could only follow through with Shisui's last request now. He opened his eyes and found a text box waiting for him.

 **Trait Obtained: Mangekyou Sharingan**

 **A/N: RIP Shisui, you were my fav. :( Good thing we still got Sasuke the adorable cinnamon bun though.**


	15. Tension

When Itachi awoke and it took him a minute to recall the events of the previous night. They came as a singular rush and grabbed his head. He felt the beginnings of tears forming and felt a forced deep breath. No, now was not the time. There was a knock at the door.

Three very unhappy looking Uchiha greeted Itachi. One of them held a note in his hand. They cut straight to business.

"We're here to inquire about the suicide of Shisui Uchiha," the middle one said. He held out a note for Itachi. "We've already verified this is his handwriting, but there are other things to consider…"

 **Item Obtained: Shisui's Suicide Note**

 **You'd rather not read it...**

"Are you going to tell me why you're actually here?" Itachi asked. He was already walking out, forcing them to move back.

"According to our sources, you were the last one seen with him. Not to mention you both weren't at the meeting last night." The middle man sounded as if he'd had a lot more confidence in his answer moments before. Itachi ignored the growing urge to pause for a moment.

"Are you insinuating that I would murder my best friend?" He asked. "I hope you aren't. Otherwise you may be in trouble yourselves." Just a moment longer.

"This is ridiculous. We're going to take you into custody!" The middle one signalled to his friends. Itachi drew a kunai.

 **You defeat your opponents with ease.**

A text box appeared in front of Itachi. It had been a result of his training and leveling since joining ANBU. His power deemed some enemies too weak, and as a result, he won battles with them automatically.

"How pathetic," he remarked, looking down at the defeated Uchiha, "he was right. This clan is dooming itself."

"Itachi!" Fugaku made his appearance. His tone was a warning one. Itachi submitted to his power. He took a deep breath, and his mind became calm once more.

"I was defending myself. A few flimsy pieces of evidence is not enough to warrant my arrest. Had they talked to me, I would have been happy to cooperate," Itachi explained. "I'll leave them be." He turned and began walking towards the hokage tower to get a mission.

"Hey, you can't do this to us!" The apparent leader of the group called out to Itachi. He wasn't going to let him just walk away after an assault. Itachi's head snapped back to face them. His Mangekyou was whirling into existence.

"I'd advise against that, sir," Itachi said, placing a heavy emphasis on the last word. Even from a good distance away he could see them shaking. It wouldn't be that hard to dispose of them if they continued on like this. Policemen who didn't follow protocol were not fit to serve.

"Nii-san!" A voice called out. The tension in the air dissipated like a swarm of bees in the midst of smoke. Itachi's anger vanished. It was Sasuke.

"Forgive me," he said. He had fallen to his knees and his head was pressed against the earth. It was a request. "I am a bit distraught at the news." Fugaku was at his side in an instant.

"Leave." He commanded. "Itachi has many responsibilities to deal with and I'm afraid he's been pushing himself." The three men didn't need any more convincing and left.

"Otou-san…" Itachi said.

"I'm disappointed in your behaviour, Itachi." It was all he said before he turned and walked towards the police station. Sasuke assaulted Itachi's waist.

"What's wrong? I don't want you to be like this Nii-san." He had his face buried into Itachi's leg. He reached down and picked him up.

"I'm sorry you had to see that Sasuke." He said, turning him to look him in the eyes. "Shisui's death has hurt me."

"What can I do to make it better? What can I do to take away the hurt?" Sasuke asked. He was pleading.

"Sasuke…" Itachi said. He'd recoiled at the words.

"I don't like seeing you unhappy Nii-san. I want to help you, like all the times you helped me." Sasuke wiped the tears from his eyes and looked at Itachi with a sense of determination burning in his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Sasuke, but this is my problem. It can't be "made better" in a day. It'll be dealt with in time. I don't want you to carry this with you." Itachi explained. He hugged Sasuke close and whispered to him. "I'll get better, I promise. For right now, the best you can do is keep being happy. It's what you can do to help."

"Okay Nii-san!" Sasuke said. He put on a giant smile. "I'll just smile all the time until you're all better, even if it takes an entire year!" He proclaimed. Itachi smiled back and hugged him harder.

"Thank you." He set Sasuke down. "Now I'm going to go take care of some things with the hokage. I'll be back soon." Sasuke gave a single nod and ran off back towards the house. Itachi went to the hokage tower.

* * *

"I'm sorry for the loss of Shisui. I knew he meant a lot to you." Hiruzen said. His usually worn face managed to display a deeper sorrow. Itachi took a deep breath.

"It is unfortunate." Itachi commented. He'd mourn later. "However, there is something that troubles me more. Shisui had commented that he was on his way to resolve the coup when he was attacked."

"Ah yes…" Hiruzen took a long drag from his pipe. "He informed me of his plan. Even more unfortunate that someone opposed it."

"Lord hokage," Itachi said, "the perpetrator in the attack on Shisui was Danzo. He stole one of his eyes."

"I was afraid of that," Hiruzen said. "However, my hands are tied. Danzo is a trusted among the other councilmembers. An accusation from the accused would not go over well. Nor can I intervene as your father has labeled this strictly as a family affair." He explained.

"I… understand." The commentary had stung Itachi more than he wanted to admit. Hiruzen gave him a look of pity.

"Perhaps if you can get your name cleared in the case then I may be of more assistance. But as it stands I cannot interfere. It would cause a great many more problems than it would solve. This is part of the burden that comes with being Hokage."

Hearing the words of your elder has increased your WIS by one

"Thank you for your wisdom Lord Hokage, now I must go try to sort this out." Hiruzen gave him a nod of acknowledgement, and Itachi was off. He began wandering in the general direction of the Uchiha compound.

It wasn't fair. The Hokage was the one person he had left and he'd failed him. No, that's not true. He gave an explanation to his actions. It could be a disaster if the Hokage meddled in something he shouldn't. Besides, he needed his name cleared in Shisui's suicide. HE could try to talk to his father in the matter afterwards.

Somehow he felt like Fugaku would be unwilling to help. He already wasn't happy with him and trying to get him to move on this issue would probably cause more aggravation. He'd have to wait on that. So then what could he do?

Danzo. That was the problem. He needed some way to get Danzo implicated in the crime. He could try to find evidence. No, the only evidence would be Shisui's eye, and that could he'd have an explanation, one that would worsen the situation.

Itachi silenced his thoughts. None of them were helping. He was sure there was a solution, like with the mystery case. He'd just have to look at it closely until one became apparent. Until then he'd have to go play Uchiha word games to get himself cleared of charges.

Itachi stopped walking. No, the Gamer's Mind had kicked in too many times that day. He began his return to the hokage tower. He'd go on a mission. Seeing the numbers for his XP go up would give him a sense of accomplishment.

He'd come back later. He could already feel his mind threatening to slip back into the infinite trains of thoughts he'd just come out of. He didn't need this right now. He needed time away from the problem.

He burst through the doors of the tower and requested about a half dozen missions. He got a curious look and a shrug before being handed some appropriate level missions. He mashed his way through the multitude of prompts and headed out.

His mind automatically planned out his route. He'd be back in about a week. Perfect. He gave a backwards glance at the village, mainly towards his house, where Sasuke was. He'd have to make it up to him on his return. But for right now, he needed to get away from it all.

 **A/N: Please hold onto questions until the next update. There's more at play here than just what's on the surface. All will be covered in the next update.**


	16. Danzo's Offer

Danzo's Offer:

Itachi had returned to the village. In his week long absence, no matter what he looked at it, he always reached the same conclusion. In order to save his clan and keep it honorable, he'd have to get through Danzo. He knew that if he killed him, he'd be forced to flee afterwards.

So far the best plan Itachi had was to use Kotoamatsukami on Danzo to stop his meddling with the Uchiha and to reclaim Shisui's other eye to use on the elders. He just had to wait for Danzo to be mostly alone. It wouldn't be pleasant, but at least this wouldn't put blood on his hands.

Before that though, he had some paperwork to file. It was an annoyance more than anything at this point. He'd unintentionally raised his Paperwork skill to a fairly high level compared to some of his other stats. He was grateful no one had discovered just how good he was at it yet.

"Danzo would like to speak with you," the receptionist told Itachi, "he's been waiting since the day you left suddenly."

"I will as soon as I finish preparing these reports," Itachi said, taking a few forms from the desk. He found an empty space at a table and began working. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the receptionist pass along his reply to a masked ANBU.

On account of the many others in the room, Itachi took his time with the paperwork. He was more focused on a new question he had: Why did Danzo want to talk to him? Itachi didn't have a good feeling about it. He was almost positive it wouldn't be a good thing.

He resumed filling out the paperwork. He almost didn't want to talk to Danzo. His writing pace slowed for a moment. No, this was good. He could enact his plan. He'd already convinced himself he could do it. He picked up the pace. The sooner this was over with, the better.

Slowly, the building began to empty. Itachi could see the sun sinking lower and lower using the shadows. He wasn't done quite yet, but he would be in a moment. Danzo passed by him.

"Come, walk with me," he said. Itachi obliged. He couldn't imagine Danzo was overly happy with the time it'd taken him to complete the paperwork.

"You wanted to talk to me, sir?" He asked. No sense in immediately rushing in. He'd wait for an opening. He pulled up his inventory and selected Shisui's eye in preparation.

"First, I want to offer my condolences on Shisui's death, I know you two were close," Danzo said. He'd placed his hand on Itachi's shoulder, his thumb pressed into Itachi's neck. Almost immediately Itachi pushed it away. Something was not right here. This wasn't like Danzo at all. Still, he played it off.

"Sorry, sir, but I am wary of contact, especially due to my position," he explained. Danzo nodded in approval.

"As you should. Caution is one of the most important things to have. Preparation is another," he said. There was something about that last bit that cranked up Itachi's suspicion. "Secondly, I wanted to talk to you about the Uchiha," he added.

"What about them?" Itachi asked. Better to play dumb. He had to wait until Danzo least expected it.

"They are beginning to warrant more concern. Their coup draws near. I have come up with an offer for you. A way to save something dear to you, and it falls in line with my solution to the problem, a compromise," he explained. My solution. Itachi did not like that phrase.

"And what would that be, sir?" he asked. He sensed his opportunity was drawing near. Danzo was letting his guard down bit by bit.

"Simple. Eliminate all the Uchiha, and I'll allow you to save your brother. Refusal will mean I take matters into my own hands. I will personally ensure there are no survivors," he said. Itachi took several deep breaths. Suddenly a lot of things made sense to him.

"Let me think about it," he said.

 **Use  
Kotoamatsukami**

"I require a decision soon. I'll be moving in tonight," Danzo warned.

 **Target  
Danzo Shimura**

"I've got my own solution," Itachi said, "I'll go through with Shisui's plan, the one you thwarted." A flock of crows gathered.

 **Activate!**

 **Failure. The target you selected has immunity to this skill.**

The crows immediately dispersed.

Itachi's mind was nearly lost in panic. Another deep breath. It had to be Shisui's other eye. Looks like he'd have to use an alternate method. He'd just beat him down to reclaim the eye. His vision began to shift, only to be cut off midway through.

"I thought you'd try this," Danzo said. He wasn't lying either, his voice was flat, calm.

 **You've been paralyzed for 30 seconds.**

Danzo made some handsigns and a member of ROOT appeared. He took one look at the scene and nodded in understanding.

"You were foolish, Itachi," Danzo said. He was walking towards him, a kunai in hand. "You thought you could keep me out of things. I have ears everywhere." Itachi glanced at the timer for his paralysis.

 **0:22**

"I gave you a chance, and you threw it away," Danzo continued. He was now just a few steps from him.

 **0:15**

"I hate to do this, though." Danzo leaned closer to Itachi. It was a sickening act of intimacy. "As I told you when we met, I'd hate to see your talent go to waste." The kunai plunged into Itachi's chest.

 **0:05**

Itachi's stiff body fell to the ground. It was odd though. He felt his HP drain by some amount, but after the shock wore off, he was completely fine. At least, he felt fine.

 **The paralysis has worn off.**

Fortunately for Itachi, he'd fallen on top of the kunai. While it drained a bit more HP, it meant that he might be able to fake death long enough for Danzo to leave. He laid completely still.

 **A skill has been created through a special act.**

 **Through laying completely still on the ground, the "Fake Death" skill has been created.**

This was not good. A fresh skill was essentially useless, especially in the face of a shinobi such as Danzo. All Itachi could really do was lie in wait.

Danzo bent down over Itachi's "corpse" and his plan went out the window. He'd been stupid, so very stupid. Danzo wouldn't just leave his body or his eyes out in the open. In one fluid moment, Itachi rolled over, took the kunai from his chest, and jabbed at Danzo.

He caught it despite the shock on his face. Itachi's vision shifted.

Almost immediately, some text scrolled along the bottom of Itachi's vision.

 **You survived. No matter, I shall dispose of you.**

Itachi took it to be something Danzo had said. A group of ROOT members joined in to offer Danzo some backup.

There were too many. This was ROOT, an organization that harbored Level 30 plus shinobi. Even with his advantages, he couldn't win. He took a moment to think. Danzo couldn't hit him with Kotoamatsukami, which was the only good thing.

He made his choice. He scrolled through his menus.

 **Skills  
Special  
Tsukiyomi  
ROOT Agent**

The world shifted to black and white. In what the others perceived to be the blink of an eye, one of the ROOT members was reduced to a heap on the ground. Instantly Itachi felt the strain on his eyes.

Then the counterattack hit. Itachi was strong, but the barrage of hits knocked out a third of his health. He wouldn't last long. There had to be something he was missing, something that could help him.

The realization smashed into Itachi. He had a plethora of skill points. He might be able to turn it around.

 **Options  
Skill points  
Assignment **

The power rushed into Itachi like a wave. He was no longer helpless. The ROOT members were all a joke now.

 **Skills  
Flurry of Kunai  
All**

With satisfaction, he watched as their HP rapidly drained. Itachi saw some text slide across his vision.

 **He's a monster!**

 **Hold your ground.**

Their attacks were nothing. His HP remained comfortably above half. He unleashed another Flurry of Kunai upon the group, which put the rest of the ROOT agents out of action. Itachi's vision shifted back to normal. Victory was his.

A group of ANBU made their appearance.

"Cease and Desist," the one in the front said. Itachi recognized the voice. "You are under arrest for the assault of a member of the Hokage's Council."

The world stopped for Itachi. He had just realized what that ROOT member had done. These ANBU were just a distraction. Sasuke…

Itachi turned and ran. They weren't worth his time. The scenery around him blurred. The sounds of a battle raged on behind him. He'd have to find some way to thank Kakashi later. He risked the chakra and made several jumps ahead with Shunshins.

The compound was silent. Itachi didn't care that there was so much wrong here. Pools of blood and corpses flitted about the edges of his vision. But his eyes remained solely ahead. His destination was close. His own house. He rammed through the building and into the living room.

The sight before him stopped him dead.

His parents laid dead around Sasuke.

He took some grim satisfaction in the handful of masked corpses that surrounded his family. He gently brushed his parents aside to get to Sasuke's corpse. A look of utter terror was engraved onto his face.

Itachi cradled Sasuke. He didn't want it to be. It made sense though, Danzo probably gave orders to target them god what about Izumi? Danzo probably targeted her first too. He rocked gently back and forth.

He had to move. No, his family's corpses couldn't be left to be desecrated by streamed from his eyes. He had to pull himself together. What if there were others, some on missions? Surely there were some in the village even that fought back like his parents had.

He laid Sasuke down. He did his best to fix his face. In the end Sasuke was left with a gentle smile and a look of peace. Itachi gave his mother the same treatment, but left his Fugaku with a more stern expression. He left the house. He'd done what he'd allowed himself to. Now-

A scream rang out in the compound.

Itachi abandoned his previous train of thought. He strode towards it, a furious desire for vengeance burning his insides.

 **A/N: Okay, so some explanations. Hiruzen didn't not do anything, that's why Kakashi's there. Main reason I asked people to hold off is because people called Hiruzen "weak" for not making any obvious moves. And just to clarify he will be showing up later, so I don't want any unnecessary hate pointed at him until this arc gets resolved.**

 **Danzo's a prick and was listening in to the conversation between Itachi and Hiruzen. That's why he didn't openly do anything. Bonus points if you can figure out the weirdness of Itachi's reaction. I think that's it. Now I know this probably isn't something that comes off as tense, and I apologize for that. I'll come back to this chapter and fix it eventually.**

 **Oh yeah and I need to go back and fix the carrot symbols as I have here. As you probably guessed I don't have the greatest attention to detail.**

 **MattKennedy, as much as I'd like to take credit for it, it's a feature actually taken from Earthbound.**

 **PS: Thanks for over 100 followers! (Over 130 currently) Never thought I could reach this number but shows me what I know. I mean, there's probably no way it'll reach the level of other gamer fics, but whatevs, I'm pretty pleased with this. And it's about 650-ish views away from 10,000, which also makes me happy. Who knows? Maybe I'll have to bring in some omakes as a celebration (which would be inserted right after this arc finishes in about 3 chapters)**

 **Anyways, thanks for the support and for reading. I hope it continues as it has and grows in the future.**


	17. Deperate Struggle I

The scream had come from an Uchiha who had fled his could see the ANBU surrounding him. His mind gave him numerous options to follow through on. He went with the only one that made sense. He ran in between the Uchiha and the ANBU. A clash rang out as Itachi's sword met the ANBU's.

"Go try to find others and escape. I'll do what I can here." He told the Uchiha. It was too late for his family, but if he could do anything, he would. The man regained his composure. Itachi was far from composed however.

"Thank you." He bowed and ran off, leaving Itachi to deal with the ANBU members. The world shifted, and Itachi found himself facing off against a large mob. They were a mass of indistinguishable bodies to Itachi, ready to try and kill him. Words scrolled through his vision:

 **Endurance Battle: Survive as long as possible to let the others escape.**

A timer flashed across the top of Itachi's vision:

 **3:00**

 **2:59**

3 minutes he'd have to survive.

His journey through to the compound had drained him of about a quarter of his new reserves. He took a note of the time that had passed. Something about the battle cleared his mind.

 **2:55**

Was it just him or did the timer feel a bit sluggish? He watched it with his Sharingan.

 **2:54**

He'd been afraid of that. There was a delay between the second changing, like each second to his power was slightly longer than a normal first wave of attacks came. Itachi scrolled through his menus and selected **Block** from among them.

Normally he disliked using it, as he always wanted fights to be over as soon as possible. It also drained his **Action Bar** , leaving him without an attack option. A few tossed shuriken hit him.

 **-5 HP (Block)**

Then came the sword.

 **-12 HP (Block)**

And out came a basic water jutsu.

 **Guard Break!**

 **-30 HP**

Itachi cursed. He was still above half health by a comfortable margin, but the Guard Break had not been good. He hadn't ever taken the time to familiarize himself with how it worked.

 **2:49**

An attack cycle for every 8 seconds, and about 1 second per attack. It would be foolish to assume that they'd only use those three attacks for the rest of the battle. Even if they did, Itachi wouldn't make it past the one minute mark.

 **2:45**

Itachi's **Action Bar** was ready. He went through his menus.

 **Genjutsu**

 **Crow Storm**

If he couldn't survive by blocking perhaps he could debilitate them for a while. The genjutsu hit the three opponents, leaving them with **Paralyzed**.

Immediately the three members were dragged back into the thriving mass of ANBU and replaced. Not good.

 **2:43**

Itachi couldn't afford to continually use genjutsu on them. He'd be finished long before the timer ran down. The good news is that he'd gotten a brief moment to think, although he'd already come to a conclusion. He had to fight.

 **2:39**

Itachi decided it'd be best to try and kill off any he could to stop them from attack. He scrolled through his skills:

 **Skills**

 **Flurry of Kunai**

 **Skill Failed. You lack the necessary equipment.**

Itachi checked his inventory. He'd squandered the majority of his kunai on the fight with Danzo. He switched tactics, instead resorting to Kunai Stab. He had already been forced to take a more conservative approach.

 **2:36**

To Itachi's surprise the simple stab had reduced the ANBU's health to a mere quarter of his max. Apparently ROOT members were far tougher than ANBU. Or maybe it was a part of this mob battle. Itachi's victory was short lived though. The soldier fled into the blob of ANBU and was replaced.

 **2:35**

The blows from the ANBU struck harder without Itachi Blocking to absorb the damage.

 **-10 HP**

 **-24 HP**

Itachi's health had sunk to the halfway mark. Though without the third link, it seemed that the combo was much weaker. This wasn't a battle of brute force, it was a battle of knowing which opponent he needed to down next.

 **2:33**

He felled the first of the three, forcing him to retreat. If he was fast enough, he might even be able to interrupt one of the other attacks. He knew now that he didn't need to bother with anything stronger than a basic attack, which offered a small comfort.

 **2:30**

The ANBU leaped back into the crowd. Itachi tensed with preparation. A man identified as a ROOT member jumped into the fray.

 **2:29**

Itachi didn't hesitate. His **Dual Slash** came out.

 **Blocked!**

 **-15 HP**

 **-20 HP**

He'd been caught unaware. The attack did only a decent amount of damage, lacking the third hit to break through the others guard. He could only wait. He didn't want to pull out another big technique in case it was met with another block.

 **2:25**

Itachi went with a simple Slash. There was no resistance this time. However, the ROOT member was plenty sturdy enough, and it knocked his health down only to about half. A second later Itachi felt the bite of the counterattack.

 **-30 HP**

It wasn't the best to be below half health, but Itachi felt he could still manage. He just needed to get the ROOT member out of the battle. He waited.

 **2:21**

The ROOT member was left with just under a quarter of his health.

 **2:20**

Three ANBU members leapt from the throng to join up with the ROOT member. Except, he immediately left with his life in danger. A fourth ANBU replaced him. This was worrying. He'd been fairly confident in his ability to handle three at a time. But four was pushing it.

 **2:17**

The only good news was that he'd recovered some of his chakra. Enough to spare on something that would wipe the other side of the field, however temporarily.

 **Grand Fireball Jutsu!**

The Uchiha's signature jutsu tore through the four unlucky ANBU members. Immediately they fled back into the crowd. Four leapt out, undeterred by what they'd just seen. It felt pointless but Itachi was grateful for anything that kept him alive longer.

 **2:13**

Itachi didn't want to risk letting loose with another powerful move so soon. Instead he let his chakra recover. There wasn't much he could do with his basic moves. Although he could still stop their chain from getting too high.

 **You're beginning to feel exhausted.**

That wasn't good. It effectively hindered all of his stats. He wouldn't be pulling out attacks as fast or as hard.

 **2:09**

The ANBU attacked.

 **-14 HP**

 **-27 HP**

 **-18 HP**

 **-18 HP**

As he'd thought, the ANBU were getting more ferocious now. The last one had hit him with a dual hit jutsu. Itachi didn't care what it was, just that he had to stop it. His health was starting to look not so great.

 **2:05**

The good news was that he still just barely held the advantage. He could attack twice for their every one round. He put in a preventive stab, sending the first of the four enemies. Then he waited.

 **2:00**

Again the ANBU leapt away to make room for the ROOT member. Itachi didn't mess around this time. He flung out a volley of Shuriken. **Shuriken Blitz**! Where his **Dual Slah** failed, the shuriken were too numerous to be stopped by blocking. It was his penultimate volley available to him.

The ROOT member was torn to shreds, and he fled. Itachi prepared himself as five ANBU members replaced the sole ROOT one. He was beginning to hate the throng.

 **1:56**

Itachi stabbed the first of the ANBU. He could stop himself from getting horribly injured from at least one more round of attacks.

 **1:51**

Itachi sent the second packing. He could only wait to see the damage inflicted upon him.

 **1:50**

 **-15 HP**

 **-28 HP**

 **-20 HP**

 **-20 HP**

He was glad that he had his power at this moment. Otherwise he was sure that he'd be miserable with the number of wounds inflicted upon him. These ANBU were stronger, but only just. He frowned slightly at his health. It laid just barely over a quarter.

 **1:46**

Itachi looked to his chakra. It was recovering slowly. Too slowly. He was beginning to feel his options slip away from him. He attacked the immediate threat, ANBU #1.

 **1:41**

He had another opening. He went for one of the ANBU in what had been the three link chain. He could at least stop him. But it came at a price. The second ANBU in the lineup attacked him.

 **-15 HP**

It bumped him down to below a quarter. A faint, blinking red light near his HP indicated he was near critical condition. He looked back at the throng of ANBU. His hate for it grew. Agitation clawed at the corners of his mind, and a smolder of hate appeared.

 **1:40**

The other ANBU, numbers 3 and 5, lashed out.

 **-15 HP**

 **-28 HP**

It was better than the last time. But it still wasn't good. The faint red light began blinking more urgently at him. Soon he'd be in the critical condition.

 **1:38**

The ANBU in the first position had yet to touch Itachi, and he made sure of it as he sent him back to the throng of indistinguishable ANBU. The smolder of hate was rapidly rising into an inferno. He wouldn't be in so much danger without it constantly replacing the ANBU.

 **1:33**

Itachi lashed out at the ANBU who would've attacked him. A second later, the two ANBU who'd worked together earlier attacked.

 **-15 HP**

 **-28 HP**

A siren cut through Itachi's thoughts. He was in critical condition now. Two more rounds and he'd be finished.

 **1:30**

The ROOT member showed up, and pressed the advantage.

 **-40 HP**

Itachi felt panic seep into his chest. One hit left. His chakra was still low. He could use his shuriken, but then what? He'd be cut down if he didn't devote his chakra to field wiping moves, something he could only do for maybe another 50 seconds.

 **1:28**

Itachi hesitated.

 **1:27**

Anything he'd do would ruin him. He only was offered a choice in the when.

 **1:26**

This ROOT member was stronger than his previous iterations. He didn't care that he was about to kill someone. Itachi watched the name of his attack flash across his vision.

 **Earth Shattering Strike!**

His Mangekyou Sharingan instinctively whirled into existence. Time slowed to a crawl. He could see the nameless member crossing the distance between them. His eye showed him the exact path his fist would take, right up until it collided with him.

There was nothing he could do.

"No." A single voice called out to Itachi. It came from the pits of the inferno of hate in his gut. He'd almost forgotten about it.

"No," it repeated. "What about your your mother? Your father? Izumi? Shisui? The Clan? What about Sasuke?" It was goading him. The flames turned black in his stomach.

"Would you leave Danzo unmarred?" It continued. "Let him get away with dooming the clan?"

Itachi was starting to see it now. The black flames parted. Orange lines of flame traced a shape within the sea of black. Ribs. Arms. A skull. Itachi reached for it.

"Good." The voice told him. "Go!"

Itachi roared. The world bent before him. The ethereal orange skeleton he'd seen exploded forth from him. The world returned to what it should've been. Already the mob of ANBU and ROOT were backing away.

Text scrolled through his vision.

 **There are still some left. Keep them distracted.**

 **1:30**

Right where he'd left off. He had plenty of chakra. His health didn't matter anymore. There were still people he could save, and he would do everything he could.

 **Combat Skill Unlocked: Susano'o**

 **A/N: I'll be honest, the main reason this was delayed was a lack of Internet on my laptop. As such I had to erase and retype everything that had to be in bold, which was unfortunately a lot. Spoopy voice is spoopy and totally not important.**

 **Hopefully the delay is made up for by the chapter. Anyways,thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed.**


	18. Desperate Struggle II

A new interface appeared in the corner of Itachi's vision. It was but a simple circle with an arrow in the center. He tried to move and found that he could only turn about on the spot. In doing so, he noticed that the arrow turned with him. A member of ANBU appeared in front of him and a red dot appeared within the circle. He charged at Itachi.

A prompt appeared and Itachi followed it. He lashed out at the ANBU member with the Susano'o fist. He was sent flying back, out of Itachi's sight and the red dot disappeared. A simple rhythm began playing.

 **1:27**

Two dots appeared, one on either side of him. He waited until they charged forth. He pushed outwards to meet them with the Susano'o, noting that the action lined up with a percussion punch. Itachi smiled as they left his vision. The music picked up. A stringed instrument began a mild melody. Itachi relaxed somewhat.

 **1:24**

He noticed that in this system, he didn't have an **HP Bar** , and instead only had his **Chakra Meter**. He watched as it slowly drained with the timer. Thanks to his earlier conservation of chakra, he was working with a little under half of his maximum.

 **1:23**

Unless there was something he wasn't aware of, he had more than enough to get him through the remaining time. Some light taps of a drum signalled the approach of more foes. Itachi tapped his foot to the music only he could hear.

 **1:22**

He caught the first one squarely in the chest. The next was met with a light tap. The last went with a casual movement of his elbow. His actions were accentuated with some brass. Itachi was beginning to enjoy himself.

 **1:18**

He took a glance at the positions of the next enemies. It'd be a bit awkward to hit them all but it wasn't anything to be too concerned about. They went down as Itachi punched them gracefully.

 **1:12**

A full circle of troops appeared. The brass section picked up a fevered rhythm that crescendoed as they approached. Itachi wasn't quite sure how he was supposed to deal with them. His question was answered as his power prompted him to spin with outstretched arms. He did so, knocking back every single enemy. The brass returned to their usual rhythm.

 **1:09**

The rhythm of the song went quiet and let the strings take over with a frenzied melody. Itachi glanced at the pattern of enemies. His power supplied him with a chain of suggested poses to use against them. Itachi was glad none of the Uchiha were around to see what he was about to do.

 **1:08**

The octet of enemies attacked. Itachi swept his left arm to dispose of the first three. A quick jerk of his arm took care of the last on his left side. He mirrored the movement with his right arm.

 **1:04**

The strings continued their melody to give the next duo their entrance. Instead of charging at him directly, however, they leapt into the air, going into a graceful arc towards Itachi. In return, he was forced to throw his arms out to catch them mid-flight.

 **1:00**

A ROOT member landed and made a hand sign. Itachi's indicator circle for enemies as well as the helpful prompts became fuzzy and unusable. Itachi did a quick spin on his heel to take in everything. Nothing to see except for the line of ANBU coming from either side of the ROOT member.

 **0:58**

Itachi started dispatching them as they came. He took down two before he stumbled ever so slightly. Itachi whirled around and found an ANBU who'd used the others as a distraction. Itachi also noticed that the hit had drained him of a little bit of chakra. He'd found the catch to this new system.

 **0:56**

He gave the unfortunate ANBU a quick backhand to hasten his repositioning to face the ROOT member. As he turned he noticed that the backhand hadn't sent the ANBU flying straight back the way he'd came. He saw another bit of his chakra get knocked out of him as one of the ANBU made an attack on the Susano'o.

Itachi got an idea. He slapped the offending ANBU and aimed the launch at the ROOT member. It wasn't as artistic as the previous moves but it got the job done. The ROOT and ANBU collided and tumbled out of sight. Immediately Itachi's radar and prompts cleared up.

 **0:53**

It was strange. Itachi felt like he should be worried, like there should be more of a weight to his actions. He was fighting Konoha's elite.

More enemies appeared.

 **0:52**

Yet he felt light, carefree, almost giddy. He twisted through the motions provided to him. The music had faded to the back of his mind, like when he'd do things for Izumi on their dates.

A thought occurred to Itachi.

 **0:48**

He was dancing. This was ridiculous. Itachi remembered one time he lost a bet with Shisui. Up until now that had been the only time he'd ever danced. Granted, it'd been before he'd gained this power, and while he had been graceful, Shisui had managed to find a way to make him look ridiculous.

A string of enemies appeared.

 **0:46**

Itachi dealt with them. A flick of his wrist. A grab and a toss. Wide, sweeping gestures. He started to laugh. This was definitely something Shisui would make him do. His laughter grew. Maybe Shisui was pranking him.

Outside of Itachi's little world, the ANBU hesitated. They were trying to kill this person and he was laughing like a madman. It wasn't even a delirious laugh, more like he'd just remembered something funny. The fact that he was an Uchiha only accentuated how odd it was.

 **0:45**

Itachi was halfway done. The brief pause from the attacks meant that he had a few moments to enjoy the music. Like the other music from his power, it was a far cry from the festival music he'd heard once the war was over.

Despite the fact he was genuinely having a good time, the ANBU still had to be dealt with. They redoubled their efforts. The music went with them, getting considerably faster. They came in two's and three's only now.

Itachi wondered if it was just his power affecting the number of ANBU or if there actually were this many ANBU in the village. The latest assailant was sent off with what could be best described as a flick of his hair.

 **0:36**

The music jumped back to Itachi's attention as it faded to nothing more than a faint whisper in his ears. Every muscle in his body tensed up. Only a single ANBU appeared at a time. The gentle bassline started pounding.

 **0:33**

The other instruments faded. Nobody showed up. All that was left was the bass, driving Itachi's heart rate up. He waited.

 **0:30**

All hell broke loose.

Patterns and normality were abandoned. It was the ANBU's last stand. They came from every direction. Itachi was sure that they had abandoned tactics and now sought to overwhelm him with numbers.

 **0:26**

The music had picked up too. What little parts Itachi managed to catch in the flurry of activity gave him the impression that "music" only barely managed to describe it. There was no apparent structure yet the same driving bass remained at the heart of it all.

 **0:21**

Itachi himself was a mirror of the music. For all his grace, even the frenzy of activity was beginning to feel ungraceful. His arms and hands twitched unnaturally to hit ANBU members. Itachi was sure it was only his flexibility that allowed him to keep up the range of motion. Yet despite his movements, he still saw the occasional drop of his **Chakra Meter**.

 **0:15**

The ANBU overwhelmed him. His guide was nothing more than wildly blinking poses he couldn't afford to look at. There were just too many of them. Whereas hits earlier to his Susano'o were gentle pricks of rain, this was a downpour.

 **0:12**

Like the rhythm games for Izumi, his sharingan was his saving grace. He did what he could against the onslaught. He ignored the message before him.

 **Exhaustion creeps into your bones**

 **0:09**

The downpour of hits continued. His chakra drained fast. His once flowing movements gave way to desperate flailing. All strategy was forsaken in the hopes of survival.

 **0:07**

He could see the end. The bass pounded in his ears to the sound of his own heart. He was now certain that had he been anyone else, he'd already be dead. His chakra was only a few hits away from being gone. Three more hits, two more hits...

 **0:05**

Everything stopped. ANBU had him surrounded in a circle. None moved.

 **0:04**

Itachi became aware of how heavily he was breathing. Without the music to drown it out, the warning sirens deafened him.

 **0:03**

He waited patiently. The ANBU began to part.

 **0:02**

Danzo Shimura took up the gap. He looked at Itachi with a pleasant smile. It was one of victory.

 **0:01**

Itachi returned the smile. Danzo was too late. The rest of his clan was gone. They were safe.

 **0:00**

 **Mission Passed!**

The world returned to normal. Through the orange haze of Susano'o, Itachi saw the destruction wreaked upon the village. Screams rang in his ears. Plumes of smoke rose from nearby buildings. A generous circle about him had been scarred by the battle.

"You've gone on long enough, Itachi," Danzo said. He motioned towards him and ANBU moved in. Itachi collapsed to one knee as the orange haze around him faded. His strength was gone, but he hadn't failed. The Uchiha would live on.

"Stop." There was no anger, no raised voice, but it was understood as a command nonetheless. Its owner was Sarutobi Hiruzen. The ANBU obeyed. Itachi saw a flicker of white among the trees. "What is the meaning of this?"

"I'm apprehending a traitor to the village." Danzo said. "My men have ensured the damages have been kept to-."

"Enough." Hiruzen cut him off. "We will discuss this later. Kakashi." A masked ANBU appeared near Itachi. He noted that he was limping slightly as he hauled him to his feet.

"Hold on," Another voice said. It was a rich baritone that would've been pleasant under any other circumstances. Itachi watched as he warped into existence in the middle of the three men. He was wearing a mask. "Sorry to interrupt here but I was told something was happening to the Uchiha."

 **You're barely staying conscious.**

"Who are you?" Hiruzen asked. Danzo motioned to ROOT. The masked man didn't bother moving and instead just slipped through the attacks. "Danzo." Hiruzen said. The masked man waved dismissively.

"I expected as much," he said. "But who I am isn't important. I'm just here to pick up Itachi."

"Why?" Hiruzen asked.

"You've no business rescuing a traitor," Danzo said. "Leave him here to face punishment." The masked man let out a small chuckle.

"You're one to be talking about traitors, Danzo," he said. He made his way towards Itachi. Kakashi moved himself between the two. The man just walked right through them.

"You didn't answer the question," Hiruzen said.

"Let's just say I have an interest in him. My spies have told me a lot about him," he replied. He rested his hand on Itachi's shoulder. "Now then, I must be on my way. Farewell." The world spiralled into nothingness for Itachi.

He caught a glimpse of a strange place. White cubes floating in an empty space stretched as far as he could see. The masked man said nothing. He hoisted Itachi up over his shoulders and began moving. Itachi closed his eyes.

 **You collapse in exhaustion.**

 **A/N: I swear every time I let this creep away from me for a moment time just flies. Next up is an interlude to cover what happens to Danzo. Just to be clear though, no one's died, they're mainly hurting more than anything.**

 **So yeah, thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed.**


	19. Danzo

To say it had been a bad evening was an understatement. Things had been completely fine. And then they hadn't been. Three quarters of ANBU were in the hospital and those who weren't were not in any decent fighting shape. Hiruzen compared it to his transition back into office after the untimely death of the Fourth.

It'd been such a good evening too. He'd finished all his paperwork and was at home relaxing. And then the entire village was awoken to the sounds of combat. He'd made all haste getting out the door and heading off towards the commotion. He remembered the slight panic as he passed ANBU after ANBU lying on the ground either passed out or in agony.

And the source? Itachi Uchiha, one of the last people he'd expected. Half the Uchiha compound had been razed by the battle. He'd cloaked himself in an orange chakra construct and was easily fending off Konoha's elite. The expression on his face was one he wasn't liable to forget. Then Danzo showed up while he was trying to assess the situation, at which point he stepped in.

Of course this was a different account than what he'd recorded within the paperwork. The paperwork version was a concise and factual retelling of the story, without his emotion. Among the things of the night that troubled him, three stuck out: the disappearance of the Uchiha Clan, Danzo Shimura, and the masked man that had abducted Itachi.

"Bring him in," he told two of the remaining ANBU. There was no use delaying it any longer. He needed to find out what exactly had happened that led to Itachi's rebellion. Danzo was brought before him, with a few precautionary measures in place.

"Are these really necessary?" He asked, gesturing as best he could to the few seals on his body.

"I'm afraid they are, until I find out exactly what happened tonight." Hiruzen looked at him expectantly.

"The Uchiha took a different path than overthrowing you. My operatives informed me of their plan and I ordered them to act. I didn't account for Itachi's skill allowing them to escape anyways." He explained it in the same way he filled out reports for Hiruzen, cold, detached.

"Any ideas what spurred them to act tonight?" He just wanted to make sure of one last thing.

"If I had to guess, it would be Itachi's return from his missions." He remained impassive. Hiruzen chewed on the end of his pipe.

"I have my doubts, Danzo," he explained, "One of our most loyal shinobi doesn't turn against his village without reason."

"Itachi was never loyal," Danzo cut in. "It was a ploy by their clan to gain your trust so they could leave unhindered." Silence.

"You seem pretty insistent upon this, Danzo. Do you have any information that I do not?" He asked. "Because I'm not fully convinced Itachi would revolt as he did without reason."

"You said the same thing about Orochimaru and his experiments," Danzo said. "You can't be blinded by whatever fondness you have for Itachi. He was a traitor to his village."

"I'll wait for one more thing before I say anymore." Danzo looked at him, waiting for an explanation. Hiruzen remained silent. A few minutes later, a masked ANBU joined them.

"I have finished my investigation." He addressed the hokage. "In addition to what I informed you of earlier, the corpses of Fugaku Uchiha, Mikoto Uchiha, and Sasuke Uchiha were found in their home, along with a number of others."

Danzo was annoyed. He was explaining everything to Hiruzen and he still couldn't see sense. He supplied him with answers to every one of his pointless inquires, valid explanations that fit what things had been building to, what he knew.

"Would you care to explain how several members of the Uchiha clan ended up dead in their home when they were supposed to be just leaving?" There was a slight edge, warning him against lying.

"They were collateral, an unfortunate accident," he said. "They died while Itachi was-"

"Don't lie to me." A subtle pressure was beginning to build at the back of Danzo's head. "I want the truth."

"Maybe it was a few rogue ANBU then-"

"Enough." The ANBU who delivered the report spoke up. "Danzo Shimura, you are under arrest for the murder of Fugaku Uchiha and others, and for covering up your actions."

"For suspicion," Danzo corrected him. "Unless you can provide adequate proof of my involvement, it remains as a suspicion." The ANBU looked at Hiruzen. He didn't move, keeping his gaze focused on Danzo. He took it as a sign to continue.

"While that is normally true, we already have enough proof. You ordered ROOT and ANBU to eliminate the Uchiha, and you had them attack all who opposed it." He took off his mask.

"I am not responsible for my subordinates. You of all people should know, Kakashi. You have acted without orders before." His annoyance bled through the words.

"However," Hiruzen stepped in, "in that case he was acting under my orders." Another bout of silence. An ANBU came in and handed a scroll to Hiruzen.

"From T&I," he said, before leaving again. He paused for a moment before opening it up. He read it silently.

"Danzo, I warned you not to lie to me." The faint pressure he'd been feeling increased. He searched for an answer.

"It's clear a genjutsu was performed on them-"

"Silence." Hiruzen was no longer the grandfatherly figure adored by the village. Now he was the man who Danzo had seen on the battlefield. He wasn't hunched over, and the warm glow from his eyes was gone, leaving a cold void. "Tell me the truth."

"I did what was necessary for Konoha," he said.

"I trusted you, Danzo. I even gave you a chance to come clean and you still denied it. How many other times have you looked me straight in the eyes and lied to me?"

"As many times as was necessary." His face remained impassive despite the aching pressure in the back of his skull.

"Does that include when I questioned you about Shisui?" It was a simple question. Danzo remained silent. "Kakashi, I want you to remove the bandages from his right eye."

"No," Danzo interjected.

"If you did not lie, then your eye socket should be empty as you have told me." Hiruzen cut him off. "Go, Kakashi." Danzo made a slight movement but remained seated. Kakashi took off the bandages and stepped away, revealing three tomoe against a crimson pupil.

"I have only done what I believe needed to be done for Konoha," he said. Hiruzen stood up and walked from behind his desk.

"Do you have any idea what you've cost the village?" He shouted, his fury no longer contained. "We could've been making peace with the Uchiha had it not been for your interference. I've trusted you too much, Danzo."

"Are you saying that ROOT has not done its part to defend us?" he asked.

"What I am saying is what you have done tonight is unacceptable. ANBU has effectively been put out of commision by your actions." He kept himself from shouting. "Do you know how much this has cost the village?"

"If Tsunade were here, they could be reinstated within a few days," Danzo commented. Hiruzen thought for a moment.

"Kakashi, send word to Jiraiya. Tell him to get Tsunade back to the village at all costs and discreetly if at all possible." Kakashi nodded and left. Hiruzen returned back to his seat, his anger spent. "I order you to disband ROOT until such a time that you can be trusted again."

"Dismantle my work?" It was Danzo's turn to be infuriated. "Do you know how much I have sacrificed to build ROOT? How much work we do for the good of Konoha?"

"This is your punishment. Do not make me repeat myself." His voice cut Danzo.

"Don't be a fool, Hiruzen. You're dooming Konoha by not sending ROOT to fix the Uchiha problem," he protested.

"It is only a problem because you made it one." HIruzen's anger returned to him in an instant. The room cracked slightly. "Do not forget who I am." Danzo flinched at the sudden outpouring of chakra. "You will be placed in a cell under constant supervision until Tsunade returns to remove that eye and you will cooperate." Danzo didn't say a word. "Get him to his cell." And the deed was done.

Danzo allowed himself to be led away. It couldn't be helped after all. He entered his cell without protest and sat down on the bench. He took a moment to gather his thoughts. Hiruzen had proven he still had that will that Danzo had seen decades earlier in the middle of the war, and that had stopped him from finishing his work.

It was clear that he could no longer be trusted to run Konoha. But he couldn't count on becoming Hokage anymore after what had happened today. Decades of planning and patience, wasted. So he was left with one option: he had to leave temporarily. Escaping would be easy. He had enough ROOT members throughout the village to ensure a clean getaway.

That would be for a later time, however. Better to lull Hiruzen into a sense of security. If he remembered Tsunade it would take Jiraiya quite some time to track her down and get her to come back to the village. He almost smirked. He had all the time he needed to plan, and it was thanks to Hiruzen's softness.

That left him with the problem of the Uchiha. Most of his spies were still in place, but finding and eliminating them were two very different things. He needed to act as quickly as possible to prevent them from getting more powerful, as Itachi had. He was no doubt incredibly popular among them for what he'd done tonight. It gave him an easy target. Take him out, and the whole clan would follow easily.

Danzo moved to his bed and laid down. It had been a very long day. The cot was uncomfortable, but still nothing compared to the war days. He fell asleep designing new machinations with which he'd become Konoha's saviour. His dreams were pleasant ones.

 **A/N: I'm back! I took a bit of a break from this to try and do the National Novel Writing Month thing. Big shocker is I didn't finish :T. Anyways, I'm back to this now. Main thing I want is no hate plz on Hiruzen's actions. He got a bit close but I still don't think he'd execute him for what he did. With that out of the way, thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed.**


	20. A World of Lies

**You are still a groggy from passing out.**

It was the first thing that greeted Itachi when he came to. He was in a cave, on some sort of bed. An alert was flashing in the corner of his vision, but he ignored it.

"Quite amazing," A voice said. "You took on all of ANBU, and yet here you are, without a scratch." It was the masked man. Itachi's thoughts drifted to what had happened.

"Who are you?" He asked.

"I am Madara Uchiha." The response was simple. "I know that it's difficult to believe, but it's a story for another time."

"Where is my clan?" Itachi could tell even if asked, he wouldn't answer the question of how he was alive and why he was here.

"They've gone into hiding. They'll be fine," he told him. "I know that not everyone lived, and because of this I have a proposition for you." Itachi remained silent. "I want you to join Akatsuki, to fulfill my dream. It's called the Tsuki No Me project."

"Why should I care?" Itachi asked. "I have succeeded in my mission. I protected the Uchiha that I could."

"A fair question," he said. "In the time since I fled Konoha, I've realized something. There are people who will tell you of the good in the world. But what they don't mention is that it's all just a lie. This world is full of pain, suffering, and emptiness. Surely you know this to be true, after what happened last night."

"I don't see what this has to do with your dream." Itachi's face remained blank.

"I want to remove all those things from this world," he continued, ignoring Itachi's interruption. "I want to make a world of love, a world of peace. To create a world where everything goes right for everyone, even if it means bringing back people from the dead. That is Tsuki No Me. That is my dream."

 **Quest Alert:  
** **Project Tsuki No Me**

 **Join Madara and Akatsuki to help them create the perfect world.**

 **Completion Awards:  
** **Effectively infinite XP  
** **A perfect world for everyone**

 **Completion Failure:  
** **?**

"A world where everything is right. It sounds too good," Itachi remarked.

"I've already tested it on the small scale and seen its effects. It's perfect. I just need the power of the tailed beasts to be able to cast it on everyone," he explained. "You could have your entire clan back: Your parents, Shisui, Sasuke."

Itachi thought for a moment. He still was quite doubtful of the masked man's story. Even in a world where you could shoot fire, walk on walls, and have manifestations of hate, it was too far fetched. Genjutsu was powerful, but for such a thing to exist seemed impossible.

Madara was more than happy to give Itachi all the time he needed to think it through. If he wasn't lying, then it would be a perfect world for everyone. No one would fight because everyone would have reality as they wanted. The alert beeped at him from earlier, taking him away from his thoughts. He opened it.

 **Quest Failed: Honor**

 **The Uchiha name has been dishonored. Despite your best efforts, Shisui's wish remains unfulfilled.**

 **Completion Failure:  
** **You are now in exile from Konoha, a missing nin  
** **The Uchiha clan is now a clan of missing nin  
** **Quest: Vengeance**

Immediately after dismissing it another window popped up.

 **Quest Alert: Vengeance**

 **Danzo Shimura was the one who ruined the Uchiha's chance at a peaceful resolution. Make him pay with his life.**

 **Quest Completion:  
** **25,000 XP  
** **Elevated Status among the Uchiha  
** **Forever a criminal in Konoha**

 **Quest Failure:  
** **The clan will avenge you  
** **?  
** **?**

Itachi thought for a bit longer. He was talking to someone who was supposed to have died decades ago. Maybe the Tsuki No Me wasn't as farfetched as he thought. There was also the benefits to Akatsuki. They'd been mentioned several times in ANBU, and they could help him meet his own goals. But there was still something he needed to do, before he felt like he deserved to see Sasuke.

"I'm sorry, but I don't think I can join just yet," Itachi finally said. The masked man searched him for an answer. "I'm too young, and I'm not strong enough. But after I get enough power, I will join your cause."

"You are already strong enough, Itachi," Madara said. "To take on all of Konoha's elite and live is an impressive feat, especially to come out unscathed."

"It's not what you think," he replied. " I'm different. I have a power, one that makes me live my life differently from other people."

"And this power let you defeat all of Konoha's ANBU?" Madara leaned forward. His voice broke from the all knowing tone he'd been maintaining.

"Yes." Itachi couldn't quite bring himself to explain that he saw floating textboxes that gave him instructions and gave him numbers to represent his skills. "It's complicated. It's not important though." Madara went to raise a counterpoint. "What is important is that I almost died, and I couldn't take down Danzo."

"You're being too harsh on yourself," Madara cut in. "Danzo Shimura has many tricks up his sleeve that makes him a very difficult opponent to fight. The fact you had a fight with him and lived says a lot about your skill and potential."

"I could've done it if I hadn't been so foolish, if I had gone in assuming the worst."

 **By realizing the folly of your actions, your Wisdom increases by one.**

"And you claim this because of your power?" Madara asked.

"Yes, but now it's pointless to think about," Itachi answered. "I won't have the same advantages I did if I try to kill him now. I have to get stronger."

"Very well, I will be satisfied with your promise to join," Madara said. "Now with that out of the way, there is someone who would very much like to meet you. However, it is a meeting that can be delayed should you choose to rest here longer."

"It's fine. Who is this person who wants to meet me?" Itachi pulled himself out of the bed and stood up.

"His name is Orochimaru. I informed him of the situation and he has agreed to host the Uchiha clan in his village," Madara explained. "He just wanted to meet you."

"Take me to him." Orochimaru, the name was familiar to Itachi. He remembered a little bit of him from a few stories that Kakashi had told him along with some of the talk within ANBU was centered around him. No matter his motives, it would only be proper to thank him for what he was doing for the clan.

Madara took him back to the strange dimension from when he took him away from Konoha. They walked in silence for about 10 minutes before leaving, coming back to the real world inside an office of sorts. Orochimaru sat behind the desk.

"So this is the prodigious young Uchiha," he said. Charisma oozed from his voice. Itachi took a knee.

"I would like to thank you for what you have done for my clan. My gratitude is immeasurable and I will do everything in my power to assist you as long as you show hospitality." Orochimaru was left speechless for a moment.

"You do not need to go to such lengths, your clan has already made arrangements to bestow upon me a gift for my services," he explained. "However, I am curious to study you to see what makes you so extraordinary, but that will be for another time."

"Thank you," Itachi said once again before standing up.

"Did you collect the anything from the village?" Orochimaru asked, turning his attention to Madara. Itachi listened carefully.

"The clan was very helpful. They retrieved several sets of mature Sharingan from their fallen clansmen. They are safe from Danzo," he answered.

"Very well. I only wished to confirm what they had told me when I offered them a place within my village," Orochimaru said. He sounded very pleased. "This will help me with my research immensely."

"Itachi, your clan is waiting for you, come." Madara said, now that their business with Orochimaru had drawn to a close. The world distorted once more and they were back in the dimension of cubes and emptiness.

"What is this place, exactly?" Despite putting much thought into it, Itachi still hadn't been able to figure it out.

"This is my personal secret. I trust that you know not to reveal its existence to anyone," he said.

"Why have you shown it to me, then?" He asked.

"Think of it as a sign of trust," he explained. "We are fellow Uchiha, and should strive to ensure that we remain strong together. With our exile from the village we helped found, it is our only option to ensure that we survive."

"I see. Thank you. Now may we go see my clan? I wish to know who has survived." Itachi asked. Madara began leading him along. Not five minutes later he stopped him. The world twisted one last time and Itachi found himself in a village not unlike Konoha.

Everywhere he looked, he saw his clan. They were all looking at him, probably because of his sudden entrance. There was a moment of silence as it dawned on them who he was. Then Itachi was deafened by a loud cheering. At once he was swarmed by his clan.

He was home.

 **A/N: Happy Holidays Everyone! I'm going to be going on vacation later today, so I won't be putting any time into writing until about Thursday, so there will be a bigger delay in getting the next chapter out. My one real regret is that this chapter is a bit short and cheesy. Sorry about that. Anyways, thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed.**

 **Thanks to BruceLeeNagato for pointing out the Tsukuyomi/Tsuki No Me thing.**


	21. Clan Matters

Itachi woke up with only the barest notions of what had happened after he'd shown up in the village. It seemed like everyone had been eager to talk to Itachi, like that night so long ago when he'd graduated from the academy. Narrowly avoiding the extinction of their clan, however, left many of the adults high on life.

Drinks were had as they congratulated Itachi on bailing them out, and at their insistence, he took a small cup of sake. Then they talked him into another. At least that explained the fog over his mind. He ran through his normal morning routine, unphased by the change in surroundings. He wandered out into the city square.

All was quiet. Last night's jovialities had faded, leaving a sense of emptiness in the air. The occasional clansman drifted across Itachi's vision. Their faces brightened as he met their eyes and Itachi smiled as they passed. Eventually one of his family's friends approached him.

"I am glad you made it, Itachi," he said, bowing slightly as a greeting.

"And I too, Kenkyo," he replied, returning the bow.

"We were going to hold a meeting between those who were left and decide on what to do. We were hoping you could attend." He looked down at Itachi.

"I will." Itachi wasn't sure but to him Kenkyo looked relieved by his answer.

"If you'll follow me, I shall gather up the others." Last night had been but a brief lapse in the Uchiha attitude it seemed.

Soon what remained of the important Uchiha members were assembled. Without an official building to conduct business in, they resorted to a vacant house.

"We have gathered here today to discuss the future of the Uchiha clan," Kenkyo opened, "and how we shall treat the village that betrayed us. Before we begin, I'd like to have a moment of silence for those lost."

And it was respected.

"With us here is Itachi Uchiha, without whom we would've been lost to Konoha's actions. I ask now that he give us his thoughts." All eyes turned to Itachi.

"I am honored," he chose his words carefully, "however, I do not think I am very much qualified for making such decisions. I have known all of you since I could remember, so I will trust in your decisions as should the rest of the clan."

"Do you have any requests?" Kenkyo asked. Everyone was apprehensive, waiting for something more to come from Itachi.

"I…" he faltered. Then he realized. "If it is not too much to ask, I would like a funeral and wake to be held for those lost."

"Yes, we were already planning on that as well as a memorial," an Uchiha said. The tension was left unresolved.

"I see. In that case I leave you to discuss clan matters." Itachi walked out of the room. He really wasn't in the mood to listen in. He had his own goals, after all. Once he'd returned to his room, he took a look at his stats.

They disappointed him. He could do so much better, he just had to put in the time. Now, without the burden of being an ANBU member, and… without his family, Itachi had all the time he needed. He cleared the floor and got to work.

Hours passed, and Itachi worked out, until there was a knock at the door. Kenkyo was at the door, wearing funeral attire.

"It's time," he told him. "There should be a formal outfit in your closet." Itachi nodded. He handed him a candle and departed. It took no time at all for him to prepare and leave the house. It was dark outside, he'd been training a bit longer than he'd wanted to.

Itachi lit the candle with a flicker of chakra and began heading to the town square. Others joined him, and the procession of small flames grew into a small inferno. Those at the front led the group to a spot out away from the village.

It ended in a carefully carved wooden tower. The bodies had been replaced by effigies in the form of photographs, taken during their hasty departure. They encircled the structure, burying the candles when they came to a stop.

By some chance Itachi had ended up right in front of a photograph of his family. His father stared at him, his face unreadable. His mother smiled at him, her expression warm. Sasuke was perched upon his back, clinging tightly.

By an unspoken signal, all the adults raised their hands. A flash of seals and a collective inhale. A roar of fire, and the wooden pyre carried out its purpose. Itachi heard a number of quiet sobs. He watched as the flames consumed the photograph before him.

His mother was the first to go, then his father, and then him. The flames curled around Sasuke's face. He was laughing. He'd been happy. Itachi felt something warm running down his cheeks. Someone placed a hand on his shoulder. The circle remained in tact.

Itachi cast his eyes up to the sky. Stray embers drifted up and away. The flames dyed the moon a deep crimson, almost a blood red. There was a certain peace brought upon by performing the Uchiha's last rites despite the circumstances. There was silence.

"Itachi," Kenkyo whispered in his ear, "do you mind saying a few words about the deceased?"

"May I have your attention please?" Itachi did his best not to falter as everyone turned to face him. He cleared his throat and began speaking.

"I realize this is a difficult time for us all. I feel a deep sorrow and I know that everyone here has lost something. I am… sorry that I couldn't bring the murderer to justice. But I am working on improving myself so that I can. We can all work hard to rebuild, and show Konoha that it cannot get away with its crimes. That's all, thank you."

There was some polite applause. Looking around Itachi noted more than a few looks of concern. He returned his focus to the pyre. It would be difficult, but this would be his burden to bear. He would avenge his clan.

However, for the time being, he was content to stand with his fellow clansmen, and watch the pyre burn to ash.

 **A/N: The number of favs I've been getting made me feel guilty for not updating. I apologize for the short length but I didn't want anything else in the chapter.**


	22. Kimimaro

"There's someone I want you to meet," Orochimaru said. Generally, he wasn't around the Uchiha "compound" of the Sound Village. Itachi assumed it was due to him running experiments constantly in his free time.

"Please, take me to him." Itachi owed a lot to Orochimaru, and did his best to comply with his few and far between requests. The clan was about finished with its retrofitting of the buildings provided to them to better suit them, and as such he didn't have anything planned besides training anyways.

Orochimaru led Itachi out of compound and to one of his labs that Itachi knew to be dotted around the country. They went through a number of identical passages that ended in a fairly well lit and tidy lab. Itachi felt that even if he asked about the various instruments and experiments being conducted he wouldn't be able to fully grasp them. He noted the names of the people as he entered.

 **Kabuto Yakushi  
** **LV 41**

 **Kimimaro Kaguya  
** **LV 38**

Kimimaro was a pale child that couldn't be much younger than himself. He was in a bed, propped up by a few pillows. Kabuto was giving him an injection in the arm and talking to him.

"I'll be back later to see how your body reacts to this mixture," he said, before standing up and seeing Orochimaru and Itachi. "I was wondering when you'd bring them together."

"The Uchiha have been busy working on the accommodations I've provided them. It's only very recently that they've settled down," Orochimaru answered. He picked up a notebook off one of the tables and began reading through it. "How is your research going?"

"Not very well. Conventional methods are ineffective on his unique physiology. I'm trying to buy as much time as possible while I come up with a work around." Itachi's attention drifted away from the conversation to Kimimaro. He was unusually strong for someone his age.

He didn't react to Kabuto and Orochimaru's discussion about him, or he was simply oblivious to it. He met Itachi's gaze. His face lacked any expression though Itachi was certain there was a flicker of curiosity in his eyes.

"So you've taken an interest in Kimimaro?" Orochimaru asked, his attention once again on Itachi. "He is the one I wanted you to meet. Go on, introduce yourself."

"My name is Itachi Uchiha, it is a pleasure to meet you," Itachi said with a bow.

"It is pleasant to meet you as well. I am Kimimaro Kaguya." His tone was careful and measured.

"Lovely, now why don't you two go out for a bit of a walk. After all, fresh air does wonders for the body." Orochimaru said. Kimimaro wordlessly stepped out of the bed and adjusted his clothing. Despite his age he had a very slight height advantage over Itachi.

Orochimaru left them, heading into the labyrinth of tunnels. Kimimaro led Itachi out a different way and within moments, they were out in the sunlight. It was a private clearing of sorts, complete with a small garden. The two began walking beside each other with about five feet between them.

"Lord Orochimaru seems to have taken an interest in you. Your name comes up frequently," Kimimaro said, breaking the silence. Itachi didn't immediately respond.

"I didn't know. It probably had to do with how my clan ended up in the Sound village." It was a safe answer. Itachi had similar questions about him, but he thought it best not to ask about it.

"Oh?" The curiosity from earlier came out in full force. "If you don't mind me asking, what happened?"

"Someone from our original village viewed us as a threat and tried to dispose of us. I managed to stall them long enough for them to leave." He wanted to entertain the question, perhaps out of pity, yet he still wasn't comfortable with sharing the full details. Kimimaro must have guessed as much as he didn't press further.

"That's an impressive feat. I've heard a bit about the Uchiha. To hold off a force meant to deal with them could not have been easy." Itachi felt a bit of shame at the embarrassment of getting praise from someone younger than him.

"I have not heard of the Kaguya clan I'm afraid," Itachi said, mostly to change the subject.

"That doesn't surprise me. My clan was dying out when I left them to be follow Lord Orochimaru." He returned Itachi's courtesy from answering the question. "He knows there is more to life than constant battle." They followed the curvature of the trees as they started to turn back towards the lab.

The constant battle explained why he was abnormally strong for someone of his age, Itachi noted. It reminded him of when his father had taken him out to field in the days of the war. Kimimaro had his respect for it

"I take it you do not like violence and fighting?" Itachi asked.

"I do not enjoy it. Although sometimes Lord Orochimaru requires my skills." He was in a situation not too dissimilar to his own and that of his clan. Refuge in exchange for the occasional favor. Kimimaro interrupted Itachi's thoughts. "What do you think of fighting?"

"I think… that it is horrible, but it is necessary." It had been his turn to answer a question. "It was the only way I could've saved my clan."

"Fighting for those precious to you, I can understand that," he remarked. "So, do you have any hobbies?"

The discussion wandered into meaningless topics. They kept up the rhythm of ask and answer as they continued along the edge of the clearing. Itachi was careful to keep the distance between them comfortable. He scolded himself for not seeing the danger in how Kimimaro carried himself.

He resisted the urge to turn on his sharingan to relieve the nagging sensation in the back of his head. He knew it would not end well. To make up for it, he adjusted how he walked in an attempt to be less vulnerable. Kimimaro paused for a moment, clearly noticing the difference, but he didn't comment.

"Is this the garden you told me about, Orochimaru's personal one?" Itachi asked.

"Yes." He kneeled in front of a bush that had flowers blooming on it. "This is a Camellia flower," he said, plucking one off. "A place far from here views them as a sign of longevity. Our clan views them as a symbol of the briefness of life. I haven't told Lord Orochimaru though, he likes Camellia tea."

Itachi was considering asking about why this information would affect Orochimaru's tea drinking habits when the man himself showed up.

"You've been out longer than usual, Kimimaro. I hope you two didn't decide to have a friendly spar or something." His tone was not all that convincing to Itachi.

"No, Lord Orochimaru, Itachi and I have just learned that we share many things in common, including a dislike of violence." Itachi was almost certain that Kimimaro had just told a joke. He was unaware that Kimimaro even had a sense of humor.

"Well that's good. I'd hate for either of you to get hurt," Orochimaru replied. "Oh and by the way, Kabuto wants you to do something with those sweets you brought back the other day. He says they'll attract bugs."

"It seems our talk is over. I'm glad we had it," Kimimaro said. "Actually, do you mind taking some Warabimochi* home? I got too much and am quite sick of it."

"No, I don't. Even if I don't enjoy it I'm sure there's someone in my clan who will," he replied. Kimimaro once again led him through the tunnels until they arrived at his room. He motioned for him to wait outside while he brought them out.

"Here," he said, offering a bag to Itachi. He paused for a moment before heading back into his room. "It's strange, the Bracken fern can be made into a weak poison or a flour type substance for sweets. Wouldn't you agree?"

"Indeed, just as you can raise a person to either create or destroy," he answered, taking the bag of sweets. "It was nice to talk to you, Kimimaro. I hope we may speak again soon." Kimimaro gave him a very brief smile before closing the door.

"If you're wondering how to get out, that is my duty," Kabuto said, appearing from nowhere. Admittedly Itachi hadn't thought about it. He followed him through the corridors and was left by the door he'd initially entered the facility with. "I trust you can make it home from here."

Itachi looked up into the sky. The sun was about halfway across the sky. There was still plenty of time in the day. He reached into the bag Kimimaro had given him, pulled out a piece of Warabimochi, and began his journey home.

 **A/N: *Warabimochi is a sweet kind of like mochi made from Bracken flour.**

 **In other news, Kimimaro is about 2 or 3 years older than he is in canon, because of plot reasons that'll become more apparent later and because I thought they'd be good friends. Sorry updates are slow and the plot has kind of slowed down since the grand escape. Despite that I still hope you enjoyed it and thanks for reading.**


	23. Dual Purpose

It was during one of the now more frequent clan meetings that Itachi attended out of respect more than anything that Orochimaru made a surprise appearance. The room went silent and all attention focused on him upon his entry.

"I apologize for interrupting your little meeting, but I have some things to discuss, a proposal if you will. The Chunin Exams are coming up soon, and as a budding village, making an impressive showing at them would go a long ways to seeing my little experiment legitimized in the eyes of the major villages.

"I do not expect an answer immediately, though as the self named Kage of Sound, I will happily vouch for any teams who see fit to enter into the exams. My only request is that Itachi gets paired up with someone of my choosing. Worry not, as they are acquaintances and I wouldn't risk losing such an asset.

"However, I'd like to say that negotiations to make an appearance in a neutral environment will take considerable time, so the sooner you answer, the better the chance of the negotiations being successful. Thank you."

He left as he'd entered. Itachi sat in silence as he waited for the discussion to begin.

"This is perfect!" One younger member exclaimed. "We can show Konoha what exactly they've lost by shunning our clan."

"But Orochimaru is an international criminal," another interjected. He was the oldest member of the clan Itachi knew. "I doubt the 5 major villages will sit idly by as he sits within their grasp."

"That would violate the laws around the Chunin Exam. Anyone foolish enough to do it would be guilty just as he is," Kenkyo pointed out.

"Laws can be overlooked if the result is beneficial to enough people," the senior member said.

"It would send a poor message to minor villages," Kenkyo retorted. "How are they to trust the neutrality if the large villages can so easily break it."

"They would never be so petty," the senior member said. "You know as well as I do that villages like Konoha and Iwa don't care about all the minor villages. Breaking laws at their expense is absurd and you know it."

"But they don't," a fourth member said quietly. "But they do know that the big guys don't care, like you said. They essentially violated them for their own gain. What's to stop them from overstepping more laws for personal gain after this? Orochimaru is making a gambit."

"And so we're to put our trust in Orochimaru?" The eldest member asked.

"The way I see it," Kenkyo said, "we have more to gain than we have to lose in this scenario. Worst case scenario they try to attack us. Itachi fended them off before, and he's only gotten stronger since then. Add in Orochimaru helping and I'd say our odds are pretty good.

"Best case scenario: we can monitor Konoha's up and coming shinobi. We may have pretty good intel right now, but in a couple of years when we're ready to make our move, we'll have no clue. This precedent will set us up to attend future exams. Not to mention we get to rub it in Danzo and Hiruzen's face that we're alive and kicking."

As with everything else, when presented with a simple risk-benefit analysis, the Uchiha made a decision quickly. A vote was made almost unanimously for attending the Chunin Exams, and Itachi was chosen to send word to Orochimaru.

 **Quest Alert  
** **Attend the Chunin Exams: Securing a Spot**

 **The clan has decided they want to participate in the Chunin Exams. Orochimaru needs to be informed of this decision. All you can do is pass along the information and wait…**

 **Completion Award: 300 XP**

 **Completion Failure: Loss of Quest Opportunities  
** **Decreased Reputation within the Uchiha and with Orochimaru**

It was a trivial quest for Itachi. He left the building and was greeted by Orochimaru.

"I hope you accepted my offer, otherwise I will look rather foolish in the eyes of the major villages." Itachi wasn't sure if he was a genius or a madman when it came to people.

"We've decided that attending the exams would benefit us more than not even trying," he said.

"Excellent, then I shall get Sound a spot after a few more exchanges." He was smiling gleefully at the thought. It probably wasn't a normal reaction for someone who was essentially betting with several dozen lives and his own.

"I take that the "acquaintance" is Kimimaro?" Itachi asked.

"Yes. See, it's not enough for me to show up parading what amounts to an entire clan of missing nin. I'm submitting you as a two man cell, and I fully expect you to excel in the exams. The other Uchiha are impressive, yes, but you and Kimimaro are on an entirely different level."

"So you're using showing off your power with a two man team of extremely young shinobi, one of which is ill?" Itachi couldn't resist. He told himself it was in memory of Shisui.

"Exactly. That, and it'll humiliate Konoha. Now I have some business to attend to. I suggest working with Kimimaro to get a feel for each other's skills. Kabuto can always take you to him, all you have to is ask." Orochimaru said, and he was off, leaving just as he'd left the meeting.

Itachi wasn't too keen on going to Kimimaro, at least, not right now. He was cautious of him, both because of his strength and his illness. The brief encounter with him had given Itachi the impression that his illness affected his capabilities. Besides, he had some training he had to make up.

* * *

Evening fell, and Itachi's neighbor brought him some dinner. Although no one said it, everyone was a bit worried for Itachi. Every time he went out in public, he felt the looks cast his way. He was still suffering from his loss to them. In reality, Itachi only felt determined.

He still missed his parents and especially Sasuke, but there was nothing he could do. That's what he told himself every day. He couldn't be held up by their deaths. All he could do was honor them through his efforts. By getting revenge, he could put them at peace.

Sometimes he wanted everyone to treat him as Orochimaru had. Orochimaru saw him for what he was, not what had happened to him. To be a tool was not so bad. At the very least, it kept his thoughts occupied. It was another avoidance mechanism. On the other hand, he couldn't let his clan worry about him forever.

He took a break and ate the dinner that had been delivered. He shoved it into his inventory and used it, saving some time as well as avoiding eating it cold. He devoted the rest of his evening to meditating, keeping his mind clear.

Bedtime came and he got ready for bed. He chose to lie awake in his bed and plan out the next day before "sleeping." Kimimaro was a must. Today had just been indulgence in his training, really. Truth be told, he wanted to know Kimimaro a bit better. He liked to think the two of them were similar. That, and he was a bit curious as to his physical capabilities.

With nothing else jumping out at him, he navigated to the "sleep" menu. His finger hovered over the confirmation button. It would take but a second to press, yet something was bothering him. Something about tomorrow seemed important. Did it have something to do with Shisui?

His finger fell away from the button as he tried to remember. A deep shame welled up within him when he did remember. It was Sasuke's birthday. Or, it would've been. Maybe, if he had time after training with Kimimaro, he'd try to be a part of his clan. For Sasuke. The matter resolved, his finger hit the "sleep" button, and he was gone.

 **A/N: So I moved the plot along for real. Hopefully the little debate is good enough. Also Orochimaru is a troll. Whatever, thanks for reading, and hope you enjoyed.**


	24. Interlude: Danzo

The good thing about Hiruzen was that he took his time when it came to his friends. Sure there'd been a few meetings over the past few weeks about his punishment, but overall, he was simply unwilling to commit. It was the same weakness that had seen him become leader of ROOT. While his cell wasn't comfortable, he did have an abundance of free time to plan out his moves.

Already his sources had informed him that the events of that night were spreading around, and even the rumours surrounding ANBU's sudden incapacitation were linked negatively to him. It was clear that Konoha was no longer suitable. He had no chance of becoming Hokage and shaping the village to his liking right now.

Which left him with one option. He'd leave Konoha and bide his time until he could assert control. He was limited in what he could take with him out of the village, especially when it came to manpower. Suspicion would fall on those left behind, but sacrifices had to be made. With the agents he could take with him, however, he should be able to raise enough funds to put his plan into action.

It would be a long wait before he would show his face in Konoha again. But what was a few years to make the village into an ideal paradise, one he would lead them to. Even better he'd be able to deal with one of the threats to world peace in the same move. The pieces were set, now all he'd have to do is put them in motion.

Of course, there were a few minor risks. He'd been informed that Hiruzen was considering bringing Tsunade in to rehabilitate ANBU as quickly as possible. In the event a fifth Hokage was selected, it'd be her who would most likely end up with the seat. She was not as forgiving or naive as Hiruzen, and if she chose to deal with him, there would be complications.

There was also Kakashi, a former subordinate. He'd no doubt take the mission to try and locate him and his agents, which would be a problem if he managed to find them. A handful of jounin were also enough for him to consider a threat should they accompany Kakashi. But overall, the chances of tracking them down would be minimal. His experience in the field was unmatched by all but Hiruzen himself.

Light from the setting sun leaked in through the singular window. It would be time to move soon. Fu and Torune would assist his escape while the selected few would quietly leave. One of the few remaining ANBU delivered his evening meal and waited for him to finish. Danzo took some small pleasure in the meal, as he likely wouldn't have one as good for at least a few months.

He slipped the tray back to the guard and waited. 10 more minutes until he'd be free from his cell. He waited in silence, counting off the seconds. Even with the nature of the current mission, ROOT had to uphold its standards. At 590 seconds, the door silently opened, and two masked shinobi entered the room. As he reached 600, he was leaving the room. At 620, they were outside the gates of Konoha.

The general state of the world outside the major hidden villages was ripe for covert ops. Even Konoha's close neighbors were experiencing some problems that they couldn't afford to fix. While the village had a rigid payment policy, a group of unaffiliated shinobi could negotiate. A few weeks of protecting a build site in exchange for a small percentage of the revenue it brought in.

But it hardly stopped there. So many small communities, too economically downtrodden to pay for services up front. It was a mostly untapped market, and what missing nin did work with said communities could be dealt with. It wouldn't even take that many of them to get an income trickling in. As long as they kept frugal, within 3 years they'd have the funds.

The only drawback would be the ease at which he could be found if they stumbled upon the right people. It could be alleviated by cycling through various communities, but even that presented a margin of uncertainty. Danzo was betting on them discovering his plan too late. Some of his agents had weighed the odds and had come to the same conclusion: it was far more likely to succeed than not.

But none of that was important at this very moment. It wouldn't be safe to move openly for a number of months. He wasn't done biding his time, not yet. He did a quick head count to ensure that all had gone to plan, and then set off into the thicket of trees that encircled Konoha.

* * *

Something had been bothering Kakashi ever since they'd locked up Danzo. He'd been too cooperative, too quiet. His time in ROOT was telling him that this was a sure sign he was planning something. He'd tried his best to run an investigation but had run into issues masking his actions.

As much as he respected the Hokage's leniency in certain matters, his inaction against Danzo had been frustrating. He'd voiced his opinions in every meeting. He'd done everything "by the book" he could. Yet it was only now they'd reached a consensus on how Danzo would be handled.

He began making his way to the Hokage's office. The day was coming to a close, and if there was any time to appeal a harsher punishment, it was now. A glance at the clock told him Danzo had been fed his evening meal 9 minutes ago. He could only hope that Hiruzen hadn't taken an early leave from his duty.

The air changed. Kakashi's training kicked in as he focused on his surroundings. There was an intruder nearby. But how? He reached up for his headband. If they could make it to the Hokage tower without resistance, they were not to be taken lightly. With his free hand, he dug into his kunai pouch.

In a flash he whirled around. The kunai left his hand, aimed perfectly at the pair of men attempting to sneak up on him. They were wearing ANBU masks. It all made sense. He targeted one of the two with his sharingan, hoping to put him out of commision. One looked away and the other formed a familiar triangular seal.

Kakashi ran. He was at too much a disadvantage if the pair were who he suspected. He covered up his eye and bolted up the stairs. He might not be able to stop it as it was happening, but he could at least stop them from getting far. There was no doubt in his mind for what they intended to do.

"Lord Hokage, Danzo is making an escape attempt." He huffed out as he burst into the Hokage's office. Hiruzen froze for but a moment. His features hardened, and a silent storm began brewing.

"Kakashi, I am giving you control of what ANBU are still loyal and able. Your mission is to detain all ROOT members still in the village." He was gone as soon as he gave the order. Kakashi set to work.

Blood pounded in his ears and boiled in his veins. Danzo had been right there. He could've stopped it had he been stronger. It was Orochimaru all over again. He didn't need anyone else. He was going to drag each and every agent in personally. Those two had been too strong together, but everyone else was was trivial.

He made a promise to himself, that even if it meant spending the next 2 months in T&I, he would ensure that information regarding Danzo would be wrenched from the disparate agents who remained. He found a vein of hatred attaching itself to Hiruzen. Part of this had been his fault. It was his inaction that had let Danzo do this.

Deep breath. He would exchange words with Hiruzen later. For now, all that mattered was the mission.

 **A/N: 250 follows so I thought I'd do a double update. In fact, I might take to doing double updates just because I feel like the little blips of chapters I put out are ehh at best.**

 **So I've strived to make Danzo a prick and hopefully his actions are believable. Hiruzen's messed up obviously, but now all bets are off. Hopefully you don't start hating him. Finally, hope that Kakashi's anger doesn't come off as silly. Thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed.**


	25. Measured Ability

Itachi had decided that in order to best prepare for the Chuunin Exams, he'd have to train with Kimimaro to get a grasp on his style. Unfortunately, due to the "unique" way Itachi experienced battles, it was difficult to try and work with someone on the battlefield. That didn't stop Itachi though. He looked for a solution and finally found one.

"Kimimaro, do you mind if I try something?" Itachi asked when they met up for the day.

"Tell me what it is first." He was a very straight forward child. Itachi supposed it'd be simpler to just let him see.

"I want you to press Yes or No, though I'd prefer you press accept," Itachi said. After a bit of navigation, he saw a prompt appear in front of Kimimaro.

 **Itachi Uchiha has invited you to his party! Accept?**

 **Yes/No**

"Itachi, what is this?" Kimimaro asked. His eyes remained transfixed on the blue box in front of him.

"The simplest was to explain it is that how I experience my life is not 'normal' compared to other people. By pressing Yes, you'll experience things as I do," Itachi explained.

"Are you going to explain more?" His wariness and skepticism were earned in Itachi's opinion. They'd only recently met, after all.

"I'm afraid I've never tried this option, nor did I know of its existence until this morning. I don't know to what extent you'll gain my powers," he said. It was all he could say.

Kimimaro held his finger above the "yes" option for an indeterminate amount of time until he finally pressed it. If any subsequent boxes presented themselves to him, Itachi could not see them. It must've been some perk of his power that gave people at least some privacy.

"Interesting," Kimimaro said after finishing reading through the explanation. He took it quite well in Itachi's opinion. Then again, in the little time he'd known him, he'd shown himself to be as expressive as most Uchiha.

"Shall we spar?" He asked. Kimimaro made a small motion to indicate "yes." Itachi flipped through the menus until he found the "spar" option.

 **How would you like to spar?**

 **Action Commands/Real Time**

Itachi thought for a moment before selecting the real time. It'd tell him more about Kimimaro's general prowess than the **Action Commands** , though introducing him to them might give them an advantage.

They were moved into position across from each other. It provided Itachi with a shot of nostalgia. He hadn't sparred with anyone since Shisui had passed away, giving him the role of defender for their clan. But the spar started, and he had to focus.

Immediately he saw that Kimimaro had a small picture of a few sickly green bubbles over his head. So it seemed his illness still transferred to a certain extent. Itachi did not have much time to consider this as Kimimaro made his move.

A barrage of bones came flying from his fingertips. On instinct alone Itachi brought up a kunai to meet them. Kimimaro took advantage of the opening and closed the distance, nearly impaling Itachi with his arm. He countered with a thrust intended to cripple, but the blade stopped dead on his skin.

Itachi leapt to the other side of the arena to create some room. So Kimimaro's ability revolved around bone manipulation of some sort. He rather doubted that he could harm him with kunai. However, this was convenient as he didn't have to worry about hurting him.

These thoughts went through his mind in an instant. Kimimaro was already on him again, this time with a bone sword extended from each of his palms. Itachi was grateful for his Sharingan. Kimimaro was an incredibly graceful fighter, perhaps even on par with himself.

Still, the Sharingan's perceptiveness meant all he had to do was move his arms appropriately and he could not touch him.

However, he was being pushed back, and the edge of the arena was dangerously close. He found an opening in his guard and aimed a kick at his chest. Kimimaro had the unfortunate disadvantage that he was one of the few people shorter than Itachi.

A sharp pain shot through his foot as the kick connected.

Kimimaro was pushed back as he'd intended, but Itachi had suffered. He caught what had pierced his foot as it retracted back inside. Kimimaro's ribs. The Gamer's Mind gave him almost full immunity to the pain as he put weight on his foot. But the pain had left him with an unsettling realization.

Kimimaro's bone manipulation could not be read by the Sharingan.

However, with that realization, Kimimaro's greatest advantage had been revealed. The two began circling each other, each aware of what the end of their last exchange meant. Itachi was left with a problem though. He didn't have a way to win short of casting a genjutsu.

He didn't get any further in his thoughts as Kimimaro chose to engage. He'd acknowledge Itachi, and upped the ante. Itachi focused, forcing himself to not focus on any part of Kimimaro.

Head. Sides. Right shoulder. Right leg. Hips.

Itachi found that he had drawn a second kunai to help deal with the assault. A brief pain on his leg caused him to jump back. Kimimaro didn't pursue. He'd gotten caught up in following his arms, and as such, he was able to get in a kick that had escaped his vision.

Kimimaro took it a step further. Patches of dark grey skin began dotting his skin, growing until his entire body was covered. Wordlessly, he reached behind him and pulled out his own spine. Itachi was glad for his Gamer's Mind.

He returned his kunai to his pouch and drew his ANBU sword. He pumped a slight bit of chakra into it, hoping it'd be enough to keep it from breaking. They waited. Itachi realized Kimimaro was waiting for him to move, so he did.

He gave a few cautionary swings, which were all blocked. Kimimaro made no attempt to counterattack. Itachi caught on quickly. He ramped up the difficulty, trying his best to hit Kimimaro. Sweat began drenching his clothes.

Ever so slightly though, he was gaining ground.

Kimimaro got fed up and shoved Itachi, hard. He stumbled back, and Kimimaro advanced. Itachi saw the swing before it happened and raised his sword to block it. They never connected though, as Kimimaro stumbled and fell forward.

He stopped himself but began having a severe coughing fit. Itachi waited for him to recover. He stopped and took a vicious swing at Itachi. However, Itachi had seen enough. He weaved a genjutsu and used it to get behind Kimimaro.

With a gentle shove, he ended the spar.

"I can see how you defeated all those ANBU now," Kimimaro said after the results screen cleared. He replaced his spine before allowing the grey skin on his body to recede.

"That was actually done through a different system," Itachi informed him. "Most of my battles are not done as they were here."

"Why did you stop?" Kimimaro asked after a moment. "An enemy would not have had the same mercy."

"I doubt anything short of a wind enhanced blade would pierce your skin, so I thought it pointless to attack," He explained. It was most of the truth. "I think we're done for now though. We've both got a good grasp on each other's abilities." A shadow of a frown crept onto Kimimaro's face.

"You should be more careful," Kabuto said, suddenly appearing. "You wouldn't be very helpful to Orochimaru if you died." He handed Kimimaro something. "I've brought you a little pick-me-up to help you recover."

Kimimaro ate it silently, and it wasn't until he'd finished that Kabuto left. Itachi noted that they had him under some sort of surveillance, probably due to his condition. Something bothered him though.

"Does your condition usually affect you this much?" he asked. If the answer was no, then perhaps having him in his party wasn't the best of ideas.

"No, but when I go on missions, Lord Orochimaru usually provides something to counter the effects," he answered. He flipped through some unseen menus. "According to my 'Status' though, what Kabuto just gave me halved the effects for the next 12 hours."

"Interesting," Itachi said. So it seemed the rumors surrounding Orochimaru had some merit after all., which meant he knew who to go to should he have medical issues.

"Is there any way for me to experience battles as you do?" Kimimaro asked.

"Yes," Itachi answered. He flipped through the menus again, and selected the **Action Commands** type for their next spar. The world underwent its usual shift, and they were standing opposite each other. Itachi noted the very slight drain on Kimimaro's HP.

He gave him some time to adjust to the battle system. Unfortunately, Itachi soon learned that even with the lessened effect, Kimimaro's sickness made him an ill-suited candidate for the **Action Command** battles.

It took about as long as their previous spar, but Itachi won much more comfortably.

Kimimaro didn't have any comments as their vision returned to normal. Itachi was glad, as he was greeted with an alert that he wanted to look over.

 **Quest Alert: Contingency Plan (Optional)**

 **The battles of the Chuunin Exam may not be optimal. See if Orochimaru can help even the odds in case things aren't favorable**

 **Completion Award:  
** **500 XP  
** **Ultra Medicine**

 **Completion Failure:  
** **Possible increased difficulty in the exam**

Itachi accepted the quest. He didn't like trusting all the battles to be in **Real Time** when he had a safe strategy right in front of him. Kimimaro had apparently had enough of sparring for the day, as Itachi received another notification moments later.

 **Kimimaro Kaguya has left your party.**

He dismissed it with a thought and watched as Kimimaro went inside. Itachi followed at a distance and tried to find Orochimaru. He ended up wandering through the tunnels he was comfortable with for a few hours. Eventually he did find him.

"I apologize for the intrusion, but I have a question about Kimimaro," Itachi opened. Orochimaru looked up from his desk.

"Is this regarding his condition and the Chuunin Exams?" he asked.

"Yes." Orochimaru made a motion for him to continue. "Kabuto made an effective medicine, but is there anything stronger that you could make?"

"Not satisfied with the potency? I can appreciate that," he commented. "I do know of a more powerful remedy but as it so happens I'm unable to make it as of now."

"Why not?" Itachi asked.

"I ran out of the ingredients," Orochimaru said. "Now that you mention it though, do you mind getting a few things for me?"

In hindsight, Itachi thought the answer should've been obvious.

 **A/N: I tried to make it longer, and I tried to write a fight scene. Whatever, I'll try to make more frequent updates. Thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed.**


	26. One Small Favor

Itachi and Kimimaro walked rather stiltedly side by side. Orochimaru, in an attempt to push them closer together in preparation for the Chunin Exam. Itachi pulled the list from his pocket to recheck its contents.

 **Radix Angelicae Sinensis  
** **Fructus Arctii  
** **Rhizoma Arisaematis  
** **Radix Astragali  
** **Rhizoma Corydalis  
** **Radix Glycyrrhizae  
** **Vinegar  
** **Sugar  
** **Eggs  
** **Flour**

A few pictures and instructions had been attached but Orochimaru had refused to give them pointers as to where to find the plants. He tore the bottom of the list off and handed it to Kimimaro. He took it without a word and left Itachi with the indecipherable list of plants.

He went to the first place that came to mind: the library. Although the overwhelming majority of books and scrolls had been abandoned when they'd all fled Konoha, Orochimaru had donated a sizeable portion of his personal one for the benefit of all. A few generic encyclopedias on plants wouldn't be too hard to find.

 **Sense Danger's level has increased by one**

What an odd time, Itachi thought to himself as he walked into the library. He'd seen the librarian a number of times while studying and training himself during his free time. She was a sweet old lady with massive bifocals and nothing remotely threatening about her. He approached the counter, unconvinced by whatever his power was pulling.

"Itachi, is that you?" she asked as she turned around. She was squinting as if she was looking into the sun. Her bifocals were nowhere to be found.

"Yes, it is," he replied with a bemused smile. Being blind certainly wasn't going to make her spontaneously fling a kunai at him.

"I seem to have broken my glasses, do you mind doing me one small favor taking them in for repair down the street?" She asked him with an old lady smile.

 **Quest Alert: The Librarian's Glasses**

 **Help the kindly old librarian by delivering her glasses to the repair shop.**

 **Completion Award:  
** **25 XP  
** **The proper encyclopedias to find the plants.**

 **Completion Failure:  
** **No encyclopedias to research your plants**

"Okay." Fugaku and Mother always insisted that he pay heed to the needs of the elderly. Well, that and he sort of needed the encyclopedias if he didn't want to meander the surrounding countryside for a few plants. " But is there any way you could help me get some encyclopedias on these plants?"

"Oh I'd love to help you but I can't read very well without my glasses." Her face drooped in a frown. "And I'm afraid that without reading the names I can't get you the right books." Itachi figured.

"Here," he said, extending a hand, "if you would give me your glasses, I'll make sure they get repaired as soon as possible." She fumbled around on her desk before giving Itachi her glasses. She clasped his hand with both of hers to make sure that they didn't get any more damaged.

"Thank you." She smiled as Itachi left the library. Still one thing bothered him. Why had his sense danger skill leveled up? He was no stranger to people trying to kill him, so it seemed preposterous that a simple request would level it up.

"Welcome, welcome, what can I do for you today, Itachi?" His thoughts were interjected by the words of the owner of the repair shop. The tools were rather sparse compared to what he was used to. But the fact that they had any was courtesy of Orochimaru. The man seemed to have everything.

"The librarian asked me to bring these to you," Itachi said, producing the broken glasses.

"Oh, Misaka broke her glasses again?" He snatched them out of Itachi's hands. "This shouldn't be too difficult," he said more to himself. "Actually…"

"What is it?" Itachi asked. He got a sinking feeling.

"I've run quite low on charcoal," he explained, folding his arms. "Without it I can't make glass to repair this. If you wouldn't mind getting some, I'll throw in a spare pair so she has a backup."

 **Quest Alert: Charcoal for the Repairman**

 **The repairman needs charcoal before he can make repairs to Misaka's glasses.**

 **Completion Award:  
** **25 XP  
** **Misaka's repaired glasses, spare pair of glasses**

 **Completion Failure:  
** **No glasses to give to Misaka to get the encyclopedias**

"Where do I need to go?" Itachi asked.

"The lumberyard," the repairman said, "there's a furnace on the Western side of the saw where they make charcoal. Just tell the foreman I sent you and he'll give you a bag."

"I'll return shortly." Itachi hoped this was the truth.

The lumberyard was a recent addition to the Sound village. It'd been set up to help facilitate the rapid expansion needed to accomodate the Uchiha. As he wandered to his destination he noticed that all the employees were Sound villagers and not Uchiha.

"COME ON THIS LUMBER AIN'T GONNA CUT ITSELF!" A short, plump man with a moustache in a hard hat was yelling at everyone in the general vicinity. Itachi assumed this to be the foreman and approached him.

"Excuse me sir," he said, "I was told to ask you for a bag of charcoal."

"WHAT'S" the man yelled before adjusted the volume of his voice, "my bad, what do you want, Itachi?" Despite the man's stature he still looked down on Itachi.

"The repairman needs some charcoal for his furnace," Itachi repeated.

"Fair enough, but you should already know, nothing is free." He told him. Itachi regretted not asking for some money from the repairman. The foreman twirled the end of his moustache for a moment. "It's about lunchtime, but I've forgotten my lunch. I'd get it myself bu- HEY, WATCH IT, YOU'RE GOING TO KILL SOMEONE," he yelled at some bumbling workers, "but as you can see, I have an important job here. Do you mind picking it up from the deli?"

 **Quest Alert: A Working Man's Lunch**

 **The lumberyard foreman requires his lunch before he hands over the bag of charcoal**

 **Completion Award:  
** **25 XP  
** **Bag of charcoal**

 **Completion Failure:  
** **No charcoal to get the glasses to give to Misaka to get the encyclopedias**

"You have a deal, sir," Itachi said, giving the foreman a dubious look.

"Don't worry, Itachi, I've already paid for it," he reassured him, "all you have to do is pick it up."

"Thanks for the reassurance." Something told Itachi that it wouldn't be as simple as it seemed. There was a definite pattern emerging. He turned and left for the deli.

"Hello," a voice called out in response to the bell tingling. At least it was an Uchiha business. "Oh, hi Itachi," she dropped the business tone upon seeing him.

"Hello, Misami, ma'am," Itachi replied. Misami smirked and leaned over the counter.

"No need to be so formal Itachi, if anything, we should be formal to you." Itachi flinched at the though. "You are the savior of our clan."

"I believe Orochimaru deserves that title more than me," Itachi stated. "It was through his grace that we were given a place to stay."

"Too humble as always Itachi," she said. "Just like when you graduated at 7 and got into ANBU." Suddenly Itachi realized why she was familiar. She was among the endless parade of family friends who'd been present at both "celebrations" for him.

"I'm here for the foreman's lunch," Itachi said, cutting off the chance of further non sequiturs.

"I was wondering what you were here for. I'd have it but the foreman likes a very particular type of meat on his sandwiches, and I don't have it." She explained, dropping the playful tone.

"And I suppose you want me to go and get it from the nearest town?" Itachi asked, already resigning himself. Perhaps the "danger" that triggered his skill leveling up was the danger of a seemingly endless list of menial tasks to complete.

"Well, no," she corrected him. Could there be hope? "I was supposed to get a shipment of it this morning but I think someone attacked the delivery man. I haven't seen him."

 **Quest Alert: A Meaty-ocre Thief**

 **Misami can't make the foreman's lunch without his preferred meat, which has been stolen**

 **Completion Award:  
** **45 XP  
** **Foreman's Sandwich**

 **Completion Failure:  
** **No sandwich to trade for the charcoal to get the glasses to give to Misaka to get the encyclopedias**

"That is rather problematic," he replied, ignoring the abysmal title of his most recent quest. "I'll go find out what happened."

"Thanks, Itachi. The delivery man usually arrives from the northwest road into town." Finally, someone who was actually going to be helpful when giving him a task. "Oh, and be careful out there." she added.

"Thanks, I will." He left the deli in heightened spirits. It'd been some time since his last real mission. Well, this couldn't be called a real mission. Recovering some stolen goods wouldn't take long, but at least he wouldn't have to talk to anyone.

And so Itachi began down the path out of town. He took in every blade of grass, every dirt particle flowing on the wind, every tree on his left side, and every footprint he could discern. It was of no surprise that after walking for about 4 minutes, he discovered a trail of someone dragging a body.

He drew a kunai and followed the tracks into the woods. Not 20 steps in, he found a man he identified as a delivery man with a quick usage of **Observe**. He was tied up to a tree and his goods were nowhere to be found. This thief is terrible, Itachi thought to himself. At least the title of his quest was accurate.

"Halt!" A deep voice called out. "Who dares enter the woods of Akihiro, the master thief?"

"Master is overselling yourself," Itachi said into the thicket of trees. "I just want to take back what you've stolen."

"You think you can just reclaim these goods so casually? Do you have any ide-"

"Shut up," Itachi cut him off. "I have no interest in entertaining your delusions of grandeur. Just come and fight me and I'll make this painless." He lowered his guard to further insult the thief.

"Very well foolish child, take THIS!" Akihiro plunged down from the foliage above. Itachi rolled his eyes and stepped aside to let the man sink his knife into the ground.

"Is that your best?" Itachi asked in a dry voice. The man before him showed a battle level of 5. Even as a child Itachi could've taken him.

"S-Silence!" he countered. "Special Attack: Mega Destructio- OW!" Itachi had punched him in the nose. "What was that for?"

"Stop wasting my time." Itachi snatched the man's collar and stared at him, chakra starting to flood into his eyes.

"Well, well," he struggled to find a way out of the situation. "If you hurt me, I'll never tell you where I hid the goods. If you want them, you'll have to get me a…" he paused for a moment. golden ring, yes, a ring!"

 **Quest Alert: Thief's Ring**

"No." Itachi said, dismissing the rest of the quest pop up.

"What?" The smile fell from Akihiro's face.

"I said no. Do you not see my eyes?" He looked him dead in the face, Sharingan now active.

"Wait, wait, you're an Uchiha, aren't you." Realization dawned on his face. "Shit."

"If you don't tell me where it is, I'll have to use my powers," Itachi explained to him as if he were a 5 year old child. "You wouldn't want that, would you?"

"N-No, I wouldn't." He was grasping at Itachi's hand, trying to pull it off.

"Good, now where is it?" Itachi released him and he walked about 3 steps and retrieved several parcels from the hollow of a tree. "Thank you." he told him. After rummaging through them he found the appropriate parcel and began walking away.

"So you don't want the rest of this?" Akihiro asked, his voice shaking.

"I don't care. I just wanted this particular meat," Itachi said with a dismissive wave. "But…" he appeared behind the thief, "if you ever steal again it will not be pretty." Akihiro whimpered. Itachi released the genjutsu and continued back towards the village.

What happened next was a flurry of activity as Itachi swept through his active quests.

 **Quest Complete!**

 **Quest Complete!**

 **Quest Complete!**

 **Quest Complete!**

 **Quest Complete!**

Itachi now had the needed encyclopedias in front of him.

"Hello again." It was Kimimaro.

"Orochimaru send you back out after you brought him his things?" Itachi asked, not lifting his face from the books.

"Yes, unfortunately," came the reply. Itachi suspected he'd been sent out much earlier, and instead had chosen to watch him run around instead of helping him.

"Take these," he handed Kimimaro a list of places to look and the photographs. "We're almost done with this inane task." He took it in silence, as he had with the first list, and left Itachi alone.

He spent the next 2 and a half hours searching for the required plants, trying in vain to match plant after plant after plant to the photographs Orochimaru had given to him. Eventually though, he came up with a decent amount of them, and he headed to Orochimaru's lab.

"Well there he is!" Orochimaru exclaimed in a mockingly jovial tone. Itachi just dumped the assorted roots onto a table.

 **Quest Complete!**

"Here." He plopped himself into a nearby chair and let out a deep sigh.

"Oh, someone's a bit grumpy from his day of hard work." Orochimaru was definitely mocking him. "If you're a good boy and show me a smile, I've got a treat for you."

Itachi just looked at him.

"Close enough." Orochimaru said with a grin. He shoved a few hard candies into his hand.

"What did you do to these?" Itachi asked, eying them.

"Nothing, they're just ginger candies. Kimimaro brought me more than enough ginger." Sure they were, Itachi thought. **Observe.**

 **Ginger candy**

 **A delicious hard candy made with boiled ginger root and covered with sugar. Made with love, just like grandma's cookies.**

Itachi let all emotion leave his face before he carefully placed it in his mouth. Exactly as he'd been told, it was coated in sugar. It was sweet, like dango… right up until the sugar coating slipped off.

Ginger as it turned out, was pretty spicy, and burned Itachi's throat. This immediately prompted a violent coughing fit from him. Orochimaru produced a glass of water for him. He took it, taking large gulps to alleviate the burning.

"I hope you didn't just send us out so you could make us some candy." Itachi said when the coughing subsided.

"Of course not, I needed those roots and such for the medicine." Yet again, Itachi looked at him dubiously. 'If you keep looking at me like that I won't teach you my secrets."

"To making ginger candy?" Itachi asked him.

"No, that's a family secret," he answered without missing a beat, "to the medicine. I believe you've taken an interest in it?"

Itachi's anger subsided.

"Good, now if you'll follow me you'll have your first lesson in medicinal science."

 **A/N: This chapter was hard to write. Fetch quests suck to play but they aren't exactly better to write. I didn't want to make the joke go on too long nor did I want it to be super duper short. I didn't want it to be boring either so I masterfully inserted some totally subtle information about the new Uchiha village.**

 **I'm honestly glad that this roadblock is gone, and we got troll Orochimaru in there. Had a couple ideas that didn't make it in but whatever. I also would've kept going but the chapter would feel janky in my eyes if it was gamer shenanigans and other stuff. But uh, plot hook! I'll try making longer updates but this range I've been at is what I prefer immensely, even if they are just little update bites**

 **Anyways thanks for reading and putting up with this long ass hiatus from me.**


End file.
